The Man Without a Past (2003)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

A different way of telling a story

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

I was looking for foreign language movies to watch and came across this one. I checked the genre and it said 'Comedy-drama'. I didn't see even one ounce of comedy in this film. If this is comedy in Finland, I am never watching any Finnish movie ever again.The plot is good and they could have made a decent movie out of it. But what do we get instead? A load of trash. I need to know if people normally don't smile in Finland or the director has intentionally made the people not smile in the movie? The acting is the worst. No one even makes an attempt to bring justice to their role.They walk like marching. If two people are saying good bye, they either do an 'about turn' and walk away or a sharp right turn as if they are military men. I expected some kind of emotion when the man who robbed the bank settles the pay to his ex employees. All those employees acted as if it is nothing. They didn't even act surprised. Anyway, whoever sent this movie to Oscar must have sworn to destroy the name of Finnish Cinema. It is going to take years before I would even think about watching a Finnish movie.

If this was the first introduction I had to Finland's film industry - I probably would not revisit it. This actually is about the 8th Finnish film I have seen and some of them happen to be their submissions to the Academy Awards, If the Academy is saying this is better than Talvisota then I will laugh in their face - Talvisota is much more deserving of the nomination (just comparing this to my favourite Finnish submission to the Academy).Sorry for just yelling my head off at you people - it's just that this happens to be Finlands most overrated film (I have seen Tuntematon Sotilas - although I liked it, that was heavily overrated in Finland).As far as defining genre goes this is as mixed as mixed bags will get. This movie is unfulfilling when it comes to a comedy, it would have gotten a 1 if it didn't have any other genre though. As far as Drama films go - it is decent enough (although I prefer dark and grim dramas). Judged on a comedy: 1/10, Judged on a drama: 6/10.One of my other criticisms besides the overrating (I am NEVER going to let this drop) is definitely the endless soundtrack. There is NO SCENE IN THE ENTIRE FILM WITHOUT MUSIC PLAYING. I thought lack of music scores made movies slow - now I learn it is also on the opposite side of the scale too.If people are willing to defend the film (which to attack someone because they don't have your opinion is pointless) then look at these following Finnish films that are (in my opinion) superior: Jadesoturi (2006) (name one person who has made a movie like that), Talvisota (1989) (The most realistic War film I have EVER seen), Tuntematon Sotilas (1955/1985) (Both are very entertaining movies - even if the remake is incredibly slow), Sauna (2008) (it's a very interesting little art-house/horror film), Harjunpää ja pahan pappi (2010) (Crime/Drama/Thriller with possibly the best acting I have ever seen), Rare Exports (2010) (just appeals to the bizarre person inside me that wants to see a rather ingeniously written Psycho Santa - I should get out more).So I would recommend it to people who want to see the only Finnish film nominated for an Oscar - but that is about it.

The Man Without a Past is a painfully boring film that offers very little entertainment value to the viewer. It's supposed to be a comedy about a man who cannot remember anything about his past, but there isn't a funny line in the entire film. The director, Aki Kaurismaki, failed to get me to care about any of the characters in the film because of the complete lack of action or emotion. The always stoic and timid characters made each passing scene more and more painful to watch. The plot is actually not that bad, but the way it's presented it feels like nothing ever happened during the film. I assume that cultural differences and perhaps the translation from Finnish to English had something to do with me not enjoying the film, but I believe that it was more than that. This is the only Kaurismaki film I have seen, but based on The Man Without a Past, I am not a fan of his style. The story follows a man who was attacked and beaten in the park one night. After coming very close to death the man makes a full recovery with one exception: he can't remember anything about his past. After escaping from the hospital the man is later taken in and taken care of by a poor family that lives in an old shipping container. After being nursed back to health the man rents a shipping container of his own and starts his life over from scratch. After meeting and taking a liking to a woman while eating at a Salvation Army soup kitchen, the man goes to see her at the Salvation Army store where he gets new clothes and a new job. "The Man Without a Past" suddenly had himself a home, a job, a girlfriend, and even a dog. After learning that he has skills as a welder he tries to apply for a job, but he is unable to be paid until he opens a bank account. So, he heads to the bank to open an account, but unfortunately he gets caught up in a bank robbery and brought to jail. He is kept in jail for not giving the police any information about himself, which the police see as insubordination. He is eventually freed thanks to the help of a lawyer, but what he didn't realize is that the police posted fliers with his picture around town asking if anyone had recognized this mysterious man. A woman claiming to be his wife identified him, and he went to go visit her. He found out that he had been married and had just filed for divorce prior to his injuries. After learning that his past wasn't offering him any happiness the man heads back to his shipping container and his life with his new love Irma. Upon returning he finds that he is not really any different than the others that live in the area and that he is one of them. He may have been a man without a past but he had become a man with a future. One theme of this film seems to be homelessness. The only time we see a character living in a real house is when he goes to visit his ex-wife. The family that took him in, the man that lived in the dumpster, the other men that went to the Salvation Army soup kitchen, and even Irma (lived in a dorm room) were all people who were very poor and struggling to get by. However, these people all made the most of their situations and seemed to enjoy their lives. One way that people did this, and another theme from the film, was by listening to music. After finding and getting the jukebox fixed, the man with no past introduces Rock and Roll music to the Salvation Army's choir/band. The group of young men are instantly hooked on the new "movement" and there playing of music becomes an important event for the lives of the poor and homeless people in the area. Even the woman who was in charge of the Salvation Army store took to the new movement and became the singer for the group's band. Music was the one thing that was bringing the community together in a positive way, and the man with no past was responsible for it. Although I found the storyline of the film to be okay, I found the film itself to be very mediocre. A so called deadpan comedy gave us a cast of characters that brought zero emotion to the film. I cannot remember one person laughing at any point of the film, and I certainly wasn't laughing in the audience. There had to be a lot that was lost in translation here because the film was very awkward and uncomfortable to watch. I would imagine that without having to read the subtitles and being able to hear and understand how the characters were delivering their lines would have helped make it more entertaining. It could also simply be just a cultural difference that is the problem here. Either way, something was missing and it really hurt the film for us non Finnish speaking viewers. Overall I would say that the film is okay because the plot was decent, however I wouldn't recommend any English speaking viewers to expect this movie to be anything more than a drama, because it fails to deliver as a comedy.

Aki Kaurismäki's The Man Without a Past tells the story of a goodhearted man trying to recreate his life after developing amnesia. His search for work, love and answers takes place in the Finnish city of Helsinki, where M (Markku Peltola) finds out the way he truly wants to live.Peltola does a convincing job at playing a man without a past. There is a considerable difficulty in creating a memorable persona for a role in which the character has none prior. Peltola keeps everyone guessing, including himself, by allowing the character of M to develop slowly throughout the film, learning from his new experiences, adapting to the current situation and never relying on mannerisms or information created outside the film itself. The audience is able to share the journey, and our sympathy for M's situation is heightened. The film addresses the actions of people and their disparities quite clearly. The story starts with M being brutally attacked in the dark night of Helsinki, then mugged and left for dead. For a first scene, the plot doesn't do much for creating a positive view of the city, or of Finland itself. However, Kaurismäki artfully crafts his story to bring the characters (and the audience) down to the very depths of despair, only then to bring them back up to a feeling of affirmation for humanity. Because he struggles with his identity, every encounter is a new one for M, and he is only shown compassion by many of those he meets. People give what they can and make an honest effort to help M make the transition into a new life. Iron-fisted landlords bend the rules, preeminent lawyers defend his rights,and even a bank robber turns out to be altruistic in his plight.A concerning part of all this compassion, however, is the manner in which it is presented. Finns are portrayed as, well, very Finnish. Emotions are kept in check, and not much is ever outwardly expressed as appreciated as so much necessary. Still, the human side of an outwardly stern community can be felt with a certain energy. People band together when they need to, and give the support that those like M need at the moment to survive.A part of this survival is not so much physical for M, but emotional as well with the Salvation Army worker Irma (Kati Outinen). Shortly after M receives the communal assistance and compassion from those around him, he too feels the need to share it with someone, in his case, a woman. The relationship between M and Irma could be described as cute to some: a pair of middle-aged adults attempting their very best shot at a youthful romance. The simplicity of their relationship, with walks in the woods, rides in cars, and home-cooked dinners is heartwarming, and gives a glimpse into the sincerity the two share for the comfort and security afforded by their relationship. The two merely want to be happy, and they do their best to participate in the love that brings them to that destination.The Man Without a Past shows not only how a man can choose to live, but also how he can change. The film presents the challenges of relationships, and the things that tear them apart. M receives a second chance, and in doing so, he perhaps subconsciously changes his way of life. Though he has no knowledge of his prior self, the decisions he makes after starting over may very well be influenced by the mistakes he had lived through before. In the end, Kaurismäki brings us full-circle, with the level of M's happiness showing the validity of his decisions in the new life he has created. All in all an enjoyable film delving into the culture and community of Finland that would be a great flick to see on a slower evening allowing you to take in the subtle interactions between it's vast cast of characters. 7 stars out of 10.