Ariel

The mine in Finnish Lapland shuts down, leaving Taisto Kasurinen without work. He faces an uncertain future as his livelihood vanishes with the mine's closure. This event sets the film's onward path as he searches for a new life away from mining.

In a café, an older miner advises Kasurinen that there is no future in mining and hands him the keys to a 1962 white Cadillac convertible. The man then goes to the restroom and shoots himself, leaving Kasurinen with a haunting symbol and a new sense of direction. The Cadillac becomes a driving motif for the journey ahead.

Kasurinen drives the Cadillac to southern Finland, but he is mugged along the way and his life savings are stolen. The loss forces him to confront a more precarious future outside the North. He must scramble for money and work in a new place.

He finds a laboring job and secures a cheap bed at a nearby hostel, beginning to rebuild his life piece by piece. The modest accommodation and back-to-work routine contrast with his earlier loss. This marks a tentative step toward stability.

Metermaid Irmeli is impressed by the Cadillac and flirts with Kasurinen. She quits her job to accept his dinner invitation, and they start a developing romance. They go to her home where they sleep together and compare pasts, hinting at deeper connections.

Kasurinen is woken by Irmeli's young son pointing a gun at him and offering him breakfast, revealing a volatile, protective side of Irmeli's life. The moment unsettles Kasurinen and deepens the complexity of their budding relationship. The dangerous domestic scene foreshadows the film's harsher turns.

Unable to pay for the hostel bed, Kasurinen is kicked out and ends up sleeping in his car. With money tight, he reluctantly sells the Cadillac, losing the symbol of his new start. The financial strain pushes him toward precarious choices.

While in a diner, Kasurinen spots one of the men who robbed him and gives chase, grabbing the knife the man pulls on him and holding him at knifepoint. The situation escalates, and the police arrest Kasurinen for attempted armed robbery. The sequence thrusts him into the criminal justice system.

Kasurinen is sentenced to nearly two years in jail. As he leaves the courtroom, he catches the eye of a distressed Irmeli across the room, hinting at the emotional stakes of his imprisonment. The public consequences of his actions become personal.

Kasurinen proposes marriage to Irmeli during one of her visits to the prison, and Irmeli accepts, providing a beacon of hope amid confinement. The engagement ties their fates together beyond the bars. The relationship becomes more serious as they navigate separation.

Later, Irmeli brings him a birthday cake and a book with a saw inside it. He and his cellmate Mikkonen escape from the prison together, catalyzing a dramatic turn toward their flight from the country. The escape marks a new, dangerous chapter.

Outside the prison, Kasurinen and Irmeli get married, solidifying their partnership as they face an uncertain future together. The ceremony signals a commitment that will be tested by subsequent choices. The newlyweds embark on a shared plan beyond confinement.

Kasurinen and Mikkonen rob a bank to fund their journey out of the country. The men who had promised them passports stab Mikkonen to grab the loot, and Kasurinen shoots the attackers, yet cannot save his friend. The heist tragedy underscores the film's descent into violence.

The film ends with Kasurinen, Irmeli, and her son boarding a ship named Ariel bound for Mexico, seeking a fresh start far from their past. The voyage leaves their future uncertain but symbolic of escape and renewal. The last image is of a family choosing a new path together.