The Man Without a Past

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The Man Without a Past
Review added by
David Beckett

aka `Mies vailla menneisyyttä`
Certificate: 12
Running Time: 96 mins
Retail Price: £12.99
Release Date: 21/09/2009
Content Type: Movie

Synopsis:
A delirious mixture of black comedy, film noir and love story, acclaimed Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki`s (Leningrad Cowboys Go America, Take Care of your Scarf, Tatjana) rapturously received The Man Without a Past triumphed at the 2002 Cannes film festival, carrying off multiple awards including Best Actress and the Grand Jury Prize.

Markku Peltola (Juha) plays `M`, who arrives in Helsinki only to be viciously set upon by thugs and pronounced dead by medics. By some miracle he revives but with no memory of his past or his identity. Rebuilding his life from scratch, `M` acquires a melancholy dog (a recurring Kaurismäki motif) named Hannibal and falls in love with a Salvation Army soup kitchen volunteer (the muse-like Kati Outinen, Drifting Clouds). But the past inevitably catches up with him, forcing him to confront his future.

Nominated for an Academy Award, The Man Without a Past is a beautifully observed and effortlessly charming masterpiece stylishly infused with Kaurismäki`s keen eye for the surreal - nowhere more in evidence than in the deadpan dialogue - and the film-maker`s warming compassion for the dispossessed. Containing nods to Hollywood amnesiac pictures of the 1950`s and the director`s beloved rock and roll, it`s a unique work existing in an ultimately tender universe all of its very own.

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