Lovers & Leavers (2002)

• 56%
• 2002
• Drama
• Romance
• Aku Louhimies
• Minna Haapkylä
• Anna-Leena Härkönen
• Laura Malmivaara

A hopeless romantic, Iiris' perceptions of romance stem from the hours of movie viewing she engages in when not working in her Helsinki bookstore. With such an idealized view of love, her experiences with real romantic relationships have been varied and disappointing -- until she is introduced to young film director Marko. Deftly able to discuss all of her favorite movies and thusly capable of understanding her unique romantic points of view, he initially seems the perfect man for her and the couple start an intense romantic relationship. They are soon forced to question the very precepts of their relationship when their film-based conversations become old and repetitive while both begin recognizing and stripping away the over-romanticized illusions each had developed about the other. After he leaves her, she gets depressed. But whe her best friend Laura leaves her husband and two children for her ex, she and her husband, Sami console each other.