The Man Without A Past (2002)

Director: Aki Kaurismaki Starring: Kati Outinen, Markku Peltola Genres: Comedy, Fantasy, Romantic Drama Origin: Finland Certificate: PG Running Time: 97 min

synopsis

A delirious mixture of black comedy, film noir and love sory, Finnish director Aki Kaurismaki's rapturously received The Man Without A Past triumphed at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival, carrying off the Best Actress and Grand Jury Prize. Markku Peltola 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 Kaurismaki motif) named Hannibal and falls in love with a Salvation Army soup kitchen volunteer (Kati Outinen). But the past inevitably cataches 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 Kauismaki's keen eye for the surreal - nowhere more in evidence than in the deadpan dialogue - and the film-maker's compassion for the dispossessed. Containing nods to Hollywood amnesiac pictures of the 1950s and the director's beloved rock and roll, it's a unique work existing in an ultimately tender universe all of its very own.