DVD : The Man Without a Past
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 9781404922846
Format: Anamorphic, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
ISBN: 1404922849
Label: Sony Pictures
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Sony Pictures
Region Code: 99
Release Date: October 07, 2003
Running Time: 97 minutes
Sales Rank: 65859
Studio: Sony Pictures
Theatrical Release Date: October 07, 2003
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Editorial Review:
Amazon.com:
The spare and quirky comedy of Finnish auteur Aki Kaurismaki is in delightful form in The Man Without a Past. A man (Markku Peltola) awakens after a brutal mugging with no memory; he wanders into the outskirts of Helsinki with his face wrapped like an escapee from a classic horror film. A destitute family helps nurse him back to health and a Salvation Army worker named Irma (Kati Outinen) helps him get a job. Though bureaucrats and policemen who can't seem to cope with this amnesiac's lack of established identity, the amnesiac plants potatoes, manages a rock & roll band, and romances Irma as he builds a new self. Kaurismaki weaves his movies out of small details and careful, cautious steps forward--but by the end, The Man Without a Past has become a rich, engrossing, and very funny portrait of the possibilities of life. --Bret Fetzer
Average Rating: 
Rating:  -
I have never knowingly been aquainted with a Finn but I have known a Basque. Those two cultures are known for various attributes but stoicism is a trait they share and one that stands out because it is so unique. I had to keep reminding myself of that while watching "The Man Without a Past". I realize that there is an element (intentional or otherwise) of "black humor" in this film but I fought the tendency to jusge it as black humor because it said so much more just taking it straight. Emotions aside (is that the National Motto of Finland?) what takes place in "The Man Without a Past" says a lot about many things. I was reminded of the first half of B. Traven's "The Death Ship" when following the trials and tribulations of a man with no name (and, naturally, no ID). However, what touched me most was the story of a man who could rebuild his life completely from scrath with no prior memories that could influence your choices. What would any of us be if we could restart our life at middle age. There are many other compelling issues that are brought out by the events that take place in this film but I enjoyed not knowing what would happen next so I don't want to give anything away. Not that there's a great big surprize at the end but the director (and writer?) Aki Kaurismaki gives us a lot to consider with the various directions his film takes. What I took from "The Man Without a Past" was the concept that we are all good people who have been molded by events and surroundings. ... Read More
Rating: -
One of Finnish director Aki Kaurismaki's minimalist humanist-mannerist comedy dramas. Here, a man arrives to Helsinki by train from the interior of Finland, and is soon beaten senselessly by some thugs in a public park. He wakes up at the hospital, with bandages round his head (a homage to James Whale's version of The Invisible Man, as some critics suggested?) and with a case of complete amnesia. He is soon called M (another homage to a 30s movie?). He goes on to live in a ramshackle house on the outskirts of Helsinki (I didn't know there was such poverty in rich Finland), working at odd jobs, meeting quirky people and trying to slowly remember his past. Among the friends he makes is a woman working for the Salvation Army (Kaurismaki's regular Kati Outinen, showing here a bit of age). The movie has a lot of the mannerisms of Kaurismaki's movies, but also its humanism. It is quirky, but compelling. Among the best work in Kaurismaki's already long career as a film director.
Rating: -
This film illustrates what I love best about being half finnish myself. Life in Finland is slow, people are taciturn and barely able to communicate. This shows the difference of Finland from the rest of Western Society - AND Eastern society. I think the music shows the minor key tone of living in the Northern climate, where the brain slows down to a crawl and survival means staying warm and dry against the odds. Knowing Finns as I have, I can understand why this movie is funny to them. Life plays out slowly and on a wave of timing that is unique. But they still manage to do the right thing - work, take care of each other and even fall in love.
Rating:  -
If you have not been in Finland, this movie will not make you to go there. If you have been in Finland, this will show you some more of it. Hidden places around and inside lost finnish man. Movie is great, but it is not for everybody. Just like sauna with subsequent dip into ice-hole. If you prefer shower instead, this one is not for you.
Rating: -
It's a fine artistic movie that has a real down-to-earth feel.
I have a habit loading up on caffeine before watching a show to "up" my attentiveness in hopes to get more out of a flick, but doing so before this particular piece left me feeling antsy. It has a pace that's good to watch after sitting on the pier all day watching the ships roll out and then watching them roll back in again.
Skip the Starbucks, eat your popcorn with a caffiene-free soda, and be sure not to be in a rush to go anywhere after the show and I'm sure you'll find this DVD rather enjoyable.
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starring: Markku Peltola, Kati Outinen, Juhani Niemelä, Kaija Pakarinen, Sakari Kuosmanen
directed by: Aki Kaurismäki
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Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 9781404922846
Format: Anamorphic, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
ISBN: 1404922849
Label: Sony Pictures
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Sony Pictures
Region Code: 99
Release Date: October 07, 2003
Running Time: 97 minutes
Sales Rank: 65859
Studio: Sony Pictures
Theatrical Release Date: October 07, 2003
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