The Man Without a Past
| The Man Without a Past | |
|---|---|
 International poster | |
| Directed by | Aki Kaurismäki |
| Written by | Aki Kaurismäki |
| Produced by | Aki Kaurismäki |
| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Timo Salminen |
| Edited by | Timo Linnasalo |
| Music by | Leevi Madetoja |
Release date |
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Running time | 97 minutes |
| Country | Finland |
| Language | Finnish |
| Budget | €1,206,000[1] |
| Box office | $9,564,237 |
The Man Without a Past (Template:Lang-fi) is a 2002 Finnish comedy-drama film produced, written, and directed by Aki Kaurismäki. Starring Markku Peltola, Kati Outinen and Juhani Niemelä, it is the second installment in Kaurismäki's Finland trilogy, the other two films being Drifting Clouds (1996) and Lights in the Dusk (2006). The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2002 (the only Finnish film so far) and won the Grand Prix at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival.[2]
Plot
The film begins with an unnamed man arriving by train to Helsinki. After falling asleep in Kaisaniemi Park, he is mugged and beaten by hoodlums and is left with severe head injuries, losing consciousness. He awakes and wanders back to the train station and collapses in its toilet. He awakes the second time in a hospital and finds that he has lost his memory. He starts his life from scratch, living in a shipping container, finding clothes with help from the Salvation Army and making friends with his poor neighbours.
Cast
- Markku Peltola as M
- Kati Outinen as Irma
- Juhani Niemelä as Nieminen
- Kaija Pakarinen as Kaisa Nieminen
- Sakari Kuosmanen as Anttila
- Annikki Tähti as Manager of Flea Market
- Anneli Sauli as Bar Owner
- Elina Salo as Dock Clerk
- Outi Mäenpää as Bank Clerk
- Esko Nikkari as Bank Robber
- Pertti Sveholm as Police Detective
- Matti Wuori as himself (lawyer)
- Aino Seppo as Ex-wife
- Janne Hyytiäinen as Ovaskainen
- Antti Reini as Electrician
Production
The Man Without a Past was co-produced by the Finnish companies Sputnik and YLE, the German companies Bavaria Film Studios and Pandora Filmproduktion and the French company Pyramide Productions.
Critical reception
The film received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 98%, based on 99 critics, with an average rating of 7.98/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Kaurismäki delivers another droll comedy full of his trademark humor."[3] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 84 out of 100, based on 29 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[4] Roger Ebert awarded the film three-and-a-half stars out of 4, saying he "felt a deep but indefinable contentment".[5] Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter said the film "contains not one false note. It is the work of an artist fully in control of his art."[6] Barbara Scharres of the Chicago Reader said that Kaurismäki "perfects his trademark formula of deadpan humor and arctic circle pathos in this brilliantly ironic 2002 comedy."[7]
Awards and nominations
References
- ^ "Production support for Finnish films 1998-2004" (PDF) (in Finnish). Finnish Film Foundation. 6 March 2004. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 March 2012. Retrieved 28 July 2011.
- ^ Fauth, Jurgen. The Man Without a Past Archived September 6, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, About.com. Accessed February 5, 2008.
- ^ The Man Without a Past at Rotten Tomatoes. Archived May 18, 2016, at the Wayback Machine Accessed 27 March 2017.
- ^ The Man Without a Past at Metacritic. Archived February 12, 2010, at the Wayback Machine Accessed 27 March 2017.
- ^ Ebert, Roger. The Man Without a Past Archived July 7, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, RogerEbert.com, June 27, 2003. Accessed January 30, 2016.
- ^ Honeycutt, Kirk. The Man Without A Past (Finland), The Hollywood Reporter, January 1, 2005. Accessed February 5, 2008. Archived from the original on December 12, 2006.
- ^ Scharres, Barbara. "The Man Without a Past". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
- ^ "The 75th Academy Awards (2003) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. AMPAS. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
- ^ Watson, Nigel. Bangkok International Film Festival 2003, Talking Pix; retrieved 2007-12-22
- ^ Hessey, Ruth. January 23, 2003. Bangkok finds its Golden Kinaree, The Age; Retrieved 2007-12-22
- ^ "Mies Vailla Menneisyytta (The Man Without A Past)". Festival de Cannes. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
External links
- The Man Without a Past at IMDb
- Template:AllMovie title
- The Man Without a Past at Box Office Mojo
- The Man Without a Past at the British Board of Film Classification
- Template:BFI
- The Man Without a Past at Elonet (in Finnish)
- The Man Without a Past at Metacritic
- The Man Without a Past at Rotten Tomatoes
- The Man Without a Past at the Swedish Film Institute Database
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