Hamlet Goes Business: Aki Kaurismäki’s ironic adaptation of William Shakespeare’s play sets it in the cutthroat world of Finnish industrialists. The basics remain the same: after his uncle murders his father and marries his mother, the protagonist goes on to avenge the death. The performances are in Kaurismäki’s traditional dry key, which always accentuates the absurdity of the situations; they are entertaining for those willing to accept the choice. Pirkka-Pekka Petelius plays the title character as an obsessive, somewhat simpleton man; Esko Salminen, as his scheming uncle, shows a clear sinister side; Kati Outinen, as the lovely Ophelia, has more to her character than usual, and nails the despair of a certain famous moment. Cinematographer Timo Salminen gives the film a noirish look, with expressive high-contrast black-and-white images, to accentuate how seedy the characters are, no matter how close to the economic elite they may be. Kaurismäki, as is generally the case, makes many interesting musical choices.