A searing salute to Scorsese's Taxi Driver, filmmaker Aku Louhimies based Frozen City on the fate of one of the characters from his television series Fragments (2003) and follows a narrative thread from his Frozen Land (MIFF 2005).
The story picks up where a cab driver, abandoned by his wife and family, tackles a conviction of manslaughter. The problem is he can't recall this fatal act, having been hopelessly drunk at the time.
Shot entirely on location in Helsinki, Frozen City makes excellent use of the distinctive bleak streets and buildings that mark out Finland's capital city, as well as non-professional actors, such as the police officers, who perform their real-life duties in the film. It also stretches Louhimies' already well-lauded skills making very real the rawest and most painful themes of human life.
Louhimies' Frozen Land was touted as one of the discoveries of MIFF last year and Fragments swept up all possible awards in the galas and competitions of the Finnish film industry, resulting in Louhimies' being crowned Director of the Year in 2004. Frozen City does not disappoint.