It's a slippery film, The Man Without a Past (original title Mies vailla menneisyyttä). Not quite film noir, not quite a parody of film noir, the movie tells the story of a man who is left penniless and clueless after a group of small-time thugs beat away his memory in the outskirts of Helsinki. This Oscar nominated film and winner of the Cannes Film Festival's Grand Prix is the second movie in writer-director Aki Kaurismaki's Finland trilogy. A comedy, noir, crime film, and satire, The Man draws on a variety of different genres but doesn't fully conform to any of them, thus maintaining a sense of self-consciousness that adds a dash of playfulness to the dry-as-bone dialogue.We know almost nothing about The Man (Markku Peltola) when he first appears to us disembarking a train with a single suitcase in hand, but that doesn't really matter. For one thing, neither does The Man, as the unfortunate mugging that leaves him stricken with amnesia quietly occurs within the first few minutes of the film. For another, The Man Without a Past is all about the indomitable will to keep moving forward. It's the present that matters most and what a triumph over present challenges means for the promise of a brighter future. The film emphasizes this theme even in the very beginning of, showing The Man living moment to moment as he wakes up from his brutal beating only to pass out again in a public bathroom. A custodian eyes The Man's bloody figure sprawled on the floor and says into his walkie, "We have a dead man here." But The Man lives, although only to be pronounced dead yet again in a hospital bed. When the defeated doctor and nurse leave his side, The Man simply opens his eyes as if waking from a brief siesta and takes off...only to pass out for the final time on the bank of a river. It is obvious that, even stripped of his most essential possessions like his health and a sense of identity, The Man will not give in to misfortune. Later on, after The Man's ingenuity and hard work has resulted in a small garden of potatoes, he makes sure to save a few for the winter. He explains to his friend, "We farmers must think of the coming years, too." While only a couple months earlier he was just a nameless nomad, The Man has turned himself into a farmer with prospects for the future.Fortunately, The Man's story doesn't end on the side of a riverbank. A family of four on the outskirts of Helsinki takes him in and nurses him back to health. He becomes well enough to start living on his own in the horrendously unkempt container shed rented to him at a high price by gruff security guard, Anttila (Sakari Kuosmanen). The Man swiftly cleans up the container to create cozy home and inserts himself into the quirky community of downtrodden outsiders that includes a love interest in the form of a lonely Salvation Army soldier, a Christian band that he turns into the hottest rhythm act in the area, a lawyer with a gigantic cigar, an adorable dog named Hannibal, and the most polite bank robber ever.Aside from the oddball characters and wacky situations that The Man finds himself, the comedy of this rather dark and subdued film comes the stylized acting and dialogue that draws on the cool personas seen in film noir and movies of the French New Wave. The Man and his lady love, Irma, (Kati Outinen) move with a stilted awkwardness and stare with blank expressions ever so slightly tinged with sadness. The characters speak in short, clipped banter that exemplifies the pinnacle of deadpan humor. For instance, while cooking dinner for Irma on a date at his place, an exchange between the pair goes as follows: Irma: The peas were fine.The Man: I went to the moon yesterday.Irma: Oh. I see. How was it? In Kaurismaki's world, everything is serious but not to be taken seriously.As the film goes on, the challenges The Man faces become less significant and ever the more ridiculous. Complications from The Man's past that initially seem major enough to separate he and Irma forever turn out to be laughably minor. Although The Man Without a Past is a film in which the emotional volume is turned down, it still delivers a happy, if not heartwarming, ending, thus further deviating from the film noir mold. There's a satisfying showdown with the criminals who beat up The Man in the beginning, but this time our protagonist has the whole town to back him up. This climax signifies The Man's triumph against all odds and the power of the marginalized when they stand together. Turning to The Man after scaring away his assailants, one of The Man's rescuers says, "So you decided to come back. The Man doesn't miss a beat, deadpanning "Obviously." At this point, we should expect nothing less from The Man Without a Past.

A touching, yet bizarre, glimpse into the life of an amnesiacAbove all, The Man Without a Past, directed by Aki Kaurismaki, is an undeniably strange movie. A nuanced, minimalistic tale about the kindness of strangers and the small joys of a difficult life, this film is an acquired taste, but certainly one worth seeing.The movie begins with The Man (played by Markku Peltola and henceforth to be referred to as M) stepping off his train and falling asleep on a park bench. He is then attacked by thugs, who steal all of his valuables and identifying information, before leaving him unconscious in a park, contents of his suitcase thrown on top of him. The hospital declares him dead ("of course he's dead, they wrapped his whole head in bandages, he can't breathe!" one of the other viewers exclaimed) but M has incredible resilience, and leaves the hospital, but not before resetting his broken nose (the whole audience screamed in disgust at this point).We soon learn that M has amnesia, and cannot remember his job, his reason for being in the city, or even his name. And unfortunately, Finland does not seem to be kind to people with no names. Try as he might, without a name, M cannot get a job, open a bank account, or get out of jail, as he might somehow be a threat to the country.The people on the outskirts of the city live in poverty, making homes out of old storage containers on a stony beach. But they make the most of the little that they have, sharing among the community. One such family finds M washed up on the beach and nurses him back to health, asking nothing in return. This kindness is casual, coming as naturally as breathing to the family. The people with the least end up doing the most to help M start a life.Going out to dinner means visiting the Salvation Army soup line. It is here that M meets Irma (played by Kati Outinen), a stony faced but sweet Salvation Army worker, who shares his love for music. M and Irma's relationship is tender and innocent. In a touching scene, Irma spreads out her small makeup collection and inexpertly applies mascara before her date with M. At his home, he prepares her dinner ("I think it's ruined already," M says after Irma offers to help him cook) and they sit together listening to rock and roll on M's jukebox. Little chemistry seems to exist between the two characters, a man with no past and a woman who has spent her whole life being emotionally closed off, but somehow, that's part of the appeal.While many films use amnesia as a tired plot device for a character to explore the mystery of his past, The Man Without a Past is just the opposite; M's amnesia presents an opportunity for rebirth. M brings life to this little, impoverished community, transforming the bland Salvation Army band into a rock band, even including the Salvation Army director as lead female vocalist. Watching M's new life unfold, we begin to realize that we don't want M to recover the past. But just as he begins to settle in, his former life comes calling back and he is forced to face his past life. M discovers the unhappiness of his former marriage, and apologizes to his ex-wife for the trouble he caused her. There's no big falling out or dramatic response (minus the strange, almost fight with the wife's new man over her honor). The interaction ends here, and M can return to his community in the city. We are happy for everyone: M, Irma, M's ex-wife, and even her new boyfriend. The film ends with a quiet sense of contentment.As my first exposure to Finnish film, The Man Without a Past was a bit difficult for me to grasp. The movie is subtle, and deeply ironic. Those uninitiated to Nordic film may find themselves in over their head. The movie's somber moments are often interrupted by outbreaks of sheer absurdity. "Do you mind if I smoke?" M asks the bank teller he is trapped in a vault with, just moments after expressing concern about running out of oxygen (What a situation!). She responds, bizarrely, with, "Does a tree mourn its fallen leaves?" Overall dialog is oddly stilted and formal, as if read off a teleprompter, and the actors don't act so much as exist, save the moments where they are dramatically staring off into the distance. This dry playfulness may end up being lost on viewers who aren't used to such a style. The Man Without a Past most definitely is not for everyone. But, viewers who want a movie that will challenge their perceptions about film while leaving them strangely uplifted, Kaurismaki's romantic drama/comedy is worth watching.

I watched Kaurismäki's Drifting Clouds (1996) and pretty much hated it. Then I saw that The Man Without a Past had been nominated for an Oscar so I thought I'd give Kaurismäki another chance. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. It's somehow even worse.There's some really bad acting (or directing) here: the nurse, the small kids, the guard, the soup lady and the band members for just a few examples. Completely stiff and wooden delivery of dialogue. The main characters aren't much better or even worse. Kati Outinen's acting especially is something so emotionless I have no idea why someone would like it. I realize it tries to caricature Finnish mannerisms but I didn't find it funny in the slightest. And it's not just the dialogue, the actors also move in a stiff and unnatural way. The only actor who seems to know what she's doing is Elina Salo who plays the part of the dock clerk. She was also the only good actor in Kaurismäki's Drifting Clouds. She acts and speaks like a normal Finnish person and has emotion behind her lines. I just don't understand this. Is she really the only decent actor in these films or is this some artistic choice by the director? If it was, I can't fathom what the point of it would be. I guess the movie is supposed to be a comedy, at least partly. But in order to find comedies funny you have to have some kind of engagement to the characters. To put it simply, either the character has to be sympathetic or they have to be completely repulsive. The movie completely failed to make me care about the main character in either way. Everything's also delivered completely deadpan. Deadpan comedy could obviously work but to do the whole movie in that style? Not for me. There were a couple of chuckles during the bank scene but otherwise not even that. There was nothing interesting going on with the cinematography either. Most shots were just completely still and extremely slow. I mean, a complete shot of a band playing a rock song which doesn't seem to have any relevance to anything? What is this? I watched most of the movie with a deep frown on my forehead wondering if someone actually seriously made this movie. I couldn't get anything meaningful from this movie. I guess if you really start to think about it, it was at least partly about how bureaucracy and the government can easily deny help based on a technicality and how friends are therefore important when you hit dire straits. This doesn't have any interest to me however because I don't care about the main character. It is an utterly boring film without any entertainment value. To the people wondering if there was something critical that was lost in the translation, I can assure you that there wasn't. I gave Drifting Clouds one extra star for a total of two because Elina Salo had a more prominent role in it. I can't do that here because she's in the film only for a minimally short time.

"The Man without a Past" is a movie without a future. This trilogy film which depicts the negative side of life in Finland is not only depressing to watch, but also depressing in its emotional let down. Finnish culture is inherently unemotional in expression and tends to only say what needs to be said, but in a film depicting such difficult aspects as homelessness, poverty, and amnesia it is an endlessly annoying aspect. The extensive use of Finnish culture and societal aspects, rather than adding to a unique film, creates a film that seems lost in confusing cultural and societal norms while adding an increasingly difficult aspect of 1950s Americana. These aspects of culture, society, and Americana serve to undermine and destroy an otherwise good film.The film "The Man without a Past" is an otherwise fascinating tale of a man who having suffered amnesia from a brutal robbery rebuilds a new identity and a new life until he is finally confronted by his past life. Depicting the hardships associated with Finnish males leaving home to find work in the city is seen through an interesting light by negating comparison to the past through amnesia. The main character, Jakko, whose name we do not learn until the end of the film (amnesia rendering him with no knowledge of himself or his past) is forced to rebuild his life through the charity of others and through this process he finds his true self and his true life. This unique aspect of hardship, despair, and incontinence seems a unique depiction from which to draw an ending of finding oneself, however, this is a very Finnish way of viewing life and is the only aspect of Finnish culture and society which adds to the film.Throughout the dialog between characters seems strangely wrapped in Shakespearian soliloquy, as they are short, poignant, and have a somewhat musical rhythm. Yet, in a film setting which is not based in the past or which is attempting to draw a Shakespearian feel this simply renders the characters confusing in their speech and creates a sense that the actors in the film are either of an extremely low quality or simply cannot act. In that a sense of emotionality, something that Finns are not know for portraying, is utterly missing throughout the film. This lack of emotion draws the viewer away from the film itself and renders them utterly confused and frustrated at trying to decipher what could be described as an excessive Vulcan complex, where pure logic and no emotion tends to render all humor, sadness, despair, love, and friendship as a confusing ballet of inept tinkering. This innate cultural aspect could be understood if the director's films were sought after in Finland, this not being the case however it leaves one wondering why it was included.Societal conceptions of basic ideals such as the welfare state, religion, and robbery are also compromised through the films very Finnish portrayal. In the film Jakko attempts to find work through the welfare state but is rejected for not having a name. Yet, rather than attempt to illustrate his problem to the official, he simply accepts the fact that without knowledge of his name he will not receive employment through the state and thus will be ineligible for assistance. After his rejection, Jakko returns to the Salvation Army which offers him work and creates an identity for him. This counter play between societal conceptions of the welfare state and religion seem to depict religion as being more open to assisting individuals regardless of their past, yet no one can move forward without the welfare state. This is seen in the final aspect of a robbery, which Jakko is a bystander to, which sees him attempting to open an account in order to receive funds from his employment with the Salvation Army. He is again denied on the basis of a lack of a name; even upon hinting that any name will do he simply says that he doesn't have a name. This heavy societal dependence on a sense of identity could be seen, if not for its Finnish nature, as depicting what is lost in the movement from one's home to an inter-land in order to find employment. Yet, giving its Finnish nature of conversation and unemotional basis one simply becomes confused and frustrated at Jakko's seemingly unwillingness to simply create a new identity. An unwillingness which would be understood to represent an individual's struggle with giving up themselves if not for the confusion of Finnish societal conceptions of rules and hiding one's true self from general perception by others.The final aspect of the addition of 1950s Americana to the film renders an already confused and belittled meaning to the film simply incomprehensible. Now not only is one confused by interactions of individuals but the setting too becomes a hodgepodge of misused icons of 1950s Americana which destroy any early conception of time and place which would help a viewer to understand the film. Rather one is left to figure out the significance of 1950s Americana to the film if any. The decade being one of the so called good-life in America, but with underlying problems which lead to the turbulent 60s. Yet, the director did not seem intent on drawing a parallel between 1950s America and present day Finland. The moving gave no depiction of unrest and ended on a note of acceptance of hardship and despair being the path to finding one's true self. Thus this indulgence seems to detract from the film more than add any kind of significance or affection for 1950s nostalgia.A film which would otherwise represent a decent film on the trials of the individual in finding himself or herself in the modern chaos which would have appealed to an unlimited audience is both detracted and lost in an overabundance of one culture, one society, and one's nostalgia.