The Liar
1981·Germany - West Germany (FRG)·53 min.
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Talkative, hyperactive young drifter Ville Alfa goes around Helsinki, basically trying to borrow money from friends and strangers by means of an incessant delivery of quirky and snappy quasi-intellectual lines and fabricated excuses. Valehtelija is an enjoyable pastiche of Breathless and other French New Wave films in which Aki Kaurismaki plays Ville Alfa, a young man with exceptional lying skills and a way with words. He treats people - his girlfriend and family members - badly and is extremely selfish. I found him both funny and sad.