I HIRED A CONTRACT KILLER

Aki Kaurismaki strikes me as someone who hates rigid & constrictive labels but I can only describe his 1990 film I Hired A Contract Killer as an “anti-comedy”. It is certainly funny but in a typical Kaurismaki deadpan matter-of-fact kind of way. It doesn’t go for too many cheap laughs or corny set-ups (almost like if Bresson had made a comedy). The basic premise of I Hired A Contract Killer sounds quite silly on paper. A recently unemployed French immigrant living in the UK (Jean Pierre Leaud) hires his own hit man because he can’t seem to successfully commit suicide after a few tries.

If other filmmakers tackled this basic premise it would more than likely be a basic silly comedy. But Kaurismaki strips away most of the typical comedic tropes and makes a straightforward barebones story that deals with issues ranging from loneliness & depression to the unjust & unethical treatment of immigrant workers. There’s even a love story wedged in there.

Look at the popular Kids In The Hall Sketch; “The Hit” for further proof that under a more traditional comedic umbrella, the basic premise of a guy hiring their own hit man would be handled in a more predictable way (click here to watch “The Hit”).


No offense to The Kids In The Hall ("The Hit" is a funny sketch) but Kaurismaki’s comedy draws inspiration from non-comedic sources like Ozu (one of Kaursmaki’s favorites), while The Kids In The Hall draw inspiration from typical sources like Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton. Again - nothing against that. I just sometimes find non-traditional comedies rooted in drama to be a bit more interesting when done right.

Dragnet Girl / I Hired A Contract Killer

Dragnet Girl / I Hired A Contract Killer

Dragnet Girl / I Hired A Contract Killer

An Ozu-esque opening...
Floating Weeds
/ I Hired A Contract Killer

Ozu’s influence has always been a constant force in the work of Kaurismaki. From his earlier work like Shadows in Paradise to semi-recent stuff like Le Havre…

What moves me in Ozu's work above all else is his humanity, his honesty, his rectitude - Aki Kaurismaki, Film Quarterly

Floating Weeds /
Shadows In Paradise

Floating Weeds /
Shadows In Paradise

Floating Weeds / Shadows In Paradise

What I respect most is that Ozu never needed to use murder or violence to tell everything that’s essential about human life - Aki Kaurismaki, Talking With Ozu

Equinox Flower / Shadows In Paradise

I refuse to go to my grave until I have proved to myself that I’ll never reach your level, Mr. Ozu - Aki Kaurismaki, Talking With Ozu

Floating Weeds /
Le Havre

Floating Weeds /
Le Havre

Floating Weeds /
Le Havre

Tokyo Story /
Le Havre

Social justice, immigration & the exploitation of the working class has been at the root of Kaurismaki’s films since day one. I Hired A Contract Killer is, in my opinion, one of the first films of his where he mad an overt political statement about the way immigrants and non-born citizens are treated in Europe specifically. This film also planted the seeds for future works like Le Havre and The Other Side Of Hope where we see immigrant life through the eyes of non-white characters (I’m not the biggest fan of either film but I appreciate the idea behind them). Kaurismaki does a very clever thing where he starts this journey with White European immigrants (I Hired A Contract Killer) then eventually transitions to characters like Africans (Le Havre) and middle eastern people (The Other Side Of Hope).

Kaurismaki has always been a political filmmaker (and a very outspoken critic of things he feels to be unjust in his personal life). He just didn’t always wear it on his sleeve so heavily until this past decade. I Hired A Contract Killer is a great mix of comedy and not-so heavy-handed social commentary that clocks in at the perfect runtime of 78 minutes.