Mies vailla menneisyyttA¤ (2002)

The spare and quirky comedy of Finnish auteur Aki Kaurismaki is in delightful form in The Man Without a Past. A man (Markku Peltola) awakens after a brutal mugging with no memory; he wanders into the outskirts of Helsinki with his face wrapped like an escapee from a classic horror film. A destitute family helps nurse him back to health and a Salvation Army worker named Irma (Kati Outinen) helps him get a job. Though bureaucrats and policemen who can't seem to cope with this amnesiac's lack of established identity, the amnesiac plants potatoes, manages a rock & roll band, and romances Irma as he builds a new self. Kaurismaki weaves his movies out of small details and careful, cautious steps forward--but by the end, The Man Without a Past has become a rich, engrossing, and very funny portrait of the possibilities of life. --Bret Fetzer Amazon.com

Great film by Kaurismaki

One of Finnish director Aki Kaurismaki's minimalist humanist-mannerist comedy dramas. Here, a man arrives to Helsinki by train from the interior of Finland, and is soon beaten senselessly by some thugs in a public park. He wakes up at the hospital, with bandages round his head (a homage to James Whale's version of The Invisible Man, as some critics suggested?) and with a case of complete amnesia. He is soon called M (another homage to a 30s movie?). He goes on to live in a ramshackle house on the outskirts of Helsinki (I didn't know there was such poverty in rich Finland), working at odd jobs, meeting quirky people and trying to slowly remember his past. Among the friends he makes is a woman working for the Salvation Army (Kaurismaki's regular Kati Outinen, showing here a bit of age). The movie has a lot of the mannerisms of Kaurismaki's movies, but also its humanism. It is quirky, but compelling. Among the best work in Kaurismaki's already long career as a film director. January 13, 2008

salvation army in finland

This film illustrates what I love best about being half finnish myself. Life in Finland is slow, people are taciturn and barely able to communicate. This shows the difference of Finland from the rest of Western Society - AND Eastern society. I think the music shows the minor key tone of living in the Northern climate, where the brain slows down to a crawl and survival means staying warm and dry against the odds. Knowing Finns as I have, I can understand why this movie is funny to them. Life plays out slowly and on a wave of timing that is unique. But they still manage to do the right thing - work, take care of each other and even fall in love. December 13, 2007

True Finland.

If you have not been in Finland, this movie will not make you to go there. If you have been in Finland, this will show you some more of it. Hidden places around and inside lost finnish man. Movie is great, but it is not for everybody. Just like sauna with subsequent dip into ice-hole. If you prefer shower instead, this one is not for you. December 11, 2007

Not bad -before- going to Starbucks

It's a fine artistic movie that has a real down-to-earth feel.
I have a habit loading up on caffeine before watching a show to "up" my attentiveness in hopes to get more out of a flick, but doing so before this particular piece left me feeling antsy. It has a pace that's good to watch after sitting on the pier all day watching the ships roll out and then watching them roll back in again.
Skip the Starbucks, eat your popcorn with a caffiene-free soda, and be sure not to be in a rush to go anywhere after the show and I'm sure you'll find this DVD rather enjoyable. November 12, 2007

The Man Without a Past

Finnish auteur Kaurismaki puts a heartrendingly fresh twist on the amnesia theme with this entry, a superb mix of deadpan black humor and lower-class anguish that somehow lifts the spirits. It's impossible not to pity Peltola's stone-faced amnesiac, and Outinen's inexpressive Army savior, but Kaurismaki keeps his bleak twists of fate from sinking into hopelessness and futility. With the barest of dialogue and great generosity of spirit, "The Man Without a Past" earns every heartbreaking laugh, and makes spareness and scarcity seem almost virtuous. July 25, 2007

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