Mies vailla menneisyyttä (2002)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Aki Kaurismäki

Writer:

Aki Kaurismäki (written by)

Release Date:

23 August 2002 (Norway)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Music | Romance | Thriller

Plot:

The second part of Aki Kaurismäki's "Finland" trilogy, the film follows a man who arrives in Helsinki...

Plot Keywords:

Amnesia | Music Manager | Blood | Boyfriend Girlfriend Relationship | Franklin D. Roosevelt

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 20 wins & 21 nominations

Cast

Markku Peltola	...	M
Kati Outinen	...	Irma
Juhani Niemelä	...	Nieminen
Kaija Pakarinen	...	Kaisa Nieminen
Sakari Kuosmanen	...	Anttila
Annikki Tähti	...	Manager of Flea Market
Anneli Sauli	...	Bar Owner
Elina Salo	...	Dock Clerk
Outi Mäenpää	...	Bank Clerk
Esko Nikkari	...	Bank Robber
Pertti Sveholm	...	Police Detective
Matti Wuori	...	Layer
Aino Seppo	...	Ex-wife
Janne Hyytiäinen	...	Ovaskainen
Antti Reini	...	Electrician

Also Known As:

Der Mann ohne Vergangenheit (Germany)
Irtolainen (Finland) (working title)
L'homme sans passé (France)
The Man Without a Past (International: English title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some violence.

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

Finland | Germany | France

Language:

Finnish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Portugal:M/12 | Iceland:12 | Hungary:14 | South Korea:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:12 | Finland:K-7 | Germany:12 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:11 | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:12 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 | Italy:T | Singapore:PG | Canada:A (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Helsinki, Finland

Company:

Bavaria Film

Trivia:

In the bar scene there is a portrait photo of Matti Pellonpää on the wall. He played in numerous Kaurismäki films before his sudden death in 1995.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The Helsinki railway station's extension roof is clearly visible at the opening scene, but it hadn't been build yet in 1996 (the year can be read from the newspaper).

Quotes:

Anttila: Tickets.
M: What do you mean?
Anttila: You haven't paid.
M: But I organized this.
Anttila: That's what you think.
M: Is that so?
Anttila: Yes.
M: Fancy that.
Anttila: That's outrageous!
M: It is, isn't it?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Film Geek (2005)

Soundtrack:

That Crawlin' Baby Blues

Unique, astounding piece of Finnish cinema

The Man Without a Past, the second installment in Aki Kaurismäki's "losers" trilogy (the first being 1996's Drifting Clouds), is, to date, the only Finnish film to have received a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar nomination, and deservedly so. It's a wonderful, heartbreaking opus, and arguably Kaurismäki's finest movie.

At the story's center we find a nameless man (Markku Peltola), who arrives in Helsinki for unknown reasons. That same night, he's brutally assaulted by a group of punks. This incident makes him look dead, although we immediately learn he is alive, if completely amnesiac. With no idea of who he is or what he's supposed to do, he starts looking for a home and an employment. He manages to rent a "house" in the city outskirts (don't miss Sakari Kuosmanen as the landlord) and befriends Irma (Kati Outinen), a social worker who tries to help M (in lack of a better name, and given "X" is quite overused) as much as possible. It is this friendship, which slowly evolves into something deeper, that truly motivates the protagonist in his pursuit of a better life.

The Man Without a Past strikes us because, unlike other films involving amnesia, it makes us hope M won't recover his memory: what he experiences throughout the movie, the people he meets, that's what really matters. It's a little bit like a road movie (they never end with the characters reaching their destination), only this time the voyage involves the mind and the spirit. It's a similar voyage the director asks the audience to join, as he artfully explores human life and its chances of improvement.

Moving and reminiscent of Italian neorealism (De Sica, Rossellini, Visconti), The Man Without a Past is a flawless reflection on how happiness is to be found anywhere, no matter the circumstances.