- The Man Without a Past
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The Man Without a Past 
International posterDirected by Aki Kaurismäki Produced by Aki Kaurismäki Written by Aki Kaurismäki Starring Markku Peltola
Kati Outinen
Juhani NiemeläMusic by Leevi Madetoja Cinematography Timo Salminen Editing by Timo Linnasalo Release date(s) Finland:
1 March 2002
United Kingdom:
24 January 2003
United States:
4 April 2003
Australia:
19 June 2003Running time 97 minutes Country Finland Language Finnish Budget €1,206,000[1] Box office $9,564,237 The Man Without a Past (Finnish: Mies vailla menneisyyttä) is a 2002 Finnish comedy-drama film directed by Aki Kaurismäki and 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 and won the Grand Prix at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival.[2]
Contents
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 severely injured in the head, losing consciousness. He awakes and wanders back to the train station and collapses in its bathroom. He awakes the second time in a hospital and finds that he has lost his memory. He starts his life from scratch, living in container dwellings, finding clothes with help from the Salvation Army and making friends with the poor.
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 has received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes aggregate review website has registered a rating of 98%[3] while Metacritic, registered a rating of 84[4] which, according to the website's rating criteria, classifies the reception of the film as Universal acclaim. Film critic Roger Ebert awarded the film 3½ stars out of 4 claiming he "felt a deep but indefinable contentment"[5] while Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter opined that 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 states "Kaurismaki perfects his trademark formula of deadpan humor and arctic circle pathos in this brilliantly ironic 2002 comedy."[7]
Awards and nominations
- ACCEC Awards
- Best Foreign Film (Kaurismäki, won)
- Academy Awards
- Best Foreign Language Film (nominated)
- Argentinean Film Critics Association Awards
- Best Foreign Film (nominated)
- Bangkok International Film Festival
- Best Actress (Outinen, won)
- Best Screenplay (Kaurismäki, won)
- Best Film (Kaurismäki, nominated)
- Bodil Awards
- Best Non-American Film (Kaurismäki, nominated)
- Camerimage
- Golden Frog (Salminen, nominated)
- Cannes Film Festival[8]
- Best Actress (Outinen, won)
- Grand Prize of the Jury (Kaurismäki, won)
- Prize of the Ecumenical Jury (Kaurismäki, won)
- Golden Palm (Kaurismäki, nominated)
- Palm Dog (Tähti, won)
- Chicago Film Critics Association Awards
- Best Foreign Language Film (nominated)
- Chlotrudis Awards
- Best Screenplay - Original (Kaurismäki, nominated)
- Cinema Writers Circle Awards, Spain
- Best Foreign Film (nominated)
- César Awards
- Best European Union Film (nominated)
- European Film Awards
- Audience Award - Best Director (Kaurismäki, nominated)
- Best Actor (Peltola, nominated)
- Best Actress (Outinen, nominated)
- Best Cinematographer (Salminen, nominated)
- Best Director (Kaurismäki, nominated)
- Best Film (Kaurismäki, nominated)
- Best Screenwriter (Kaurismäki, nominated)
- Fajr Film Festival
- International Competition - Best Screenplay (Kaurismäki, won)
- Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards
- Best Foreign-Language Film (nominated)
- Flanders International Film Festival
- Grand Prix (Kaurismäki, won)
- Guldbagge Awards
- Best Foreign Film (won)
- Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists
- Best Director - Foreign Film (Kaurismäki, nominated)
- Jussi Awards
- Best Film (won)
- Best Actress (Outinen, won)
- Best Cinematography (Salminen, won)
- Best Direction (Kaurismäki, won)
- Best Editing (Linnasalo, won)
- Best Script (Kaurismäki, won)
- Best Actor (Peltola, nominated)
- Lübeck Nordic Film Days
- Audience Prize (Kaurismäki, won)
- National Society of Film Critics Awards
- Best Foreign Language Film (won)
- Nordic Council
- Nordic Council's Film Prize (Kaurismäki, won)
- Palm Springs International Film Festival
- FIPRESCI Prize (Kaurismäki, won)
- Robert Festival
- Best Non-American Film (Kaurismäki, nominated)
- San Sebastián International Film Festival
- FIPRESCI Film of the Year (Kaurismäki, won)
References
- ^ "Production support for Finnish films 1998-2004" (in Finnish) (PDF). Finnish Film Foundation. 2004.03.06. p. 2. http://ses.fi/dokumentit/pitkat.pdf. Retrieved 28 July 2011.
- ^ Fauth, Jurgen. [1], About.com. Accessed February 5, 2008.
- ^ The Man Without a Past at Rotten Tomatoes. Accessed February 5, 2008.
- ^ The Man Without a Past at Metacritic. Accessed February 5, 2008.
- ^ Ebert, Roger. The Man Without a Past, Chicago Sun-Times, June 27, 2003. Accessed February 5, 2008.
- ^ Honeycutt, Kirk. The Man Without A Past (Finland), The Hollywood Reporter, January 1, 2005. Accessed February 5, 2008.
- ^ The Man Without a Past
- ^ "Festival de Cannes: The Man Without a Past". festival-cannes.com. http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/3103023/year/2002.html. Retrieved 2009-10-25.
External links
Films directed by Aki Kaurismäki Feature films Crime and Punishment · Calamari Union · Shadows in Paradise · Hamlet Goes Business · Ariel · Leningrad Cowboys Go America · Dirty Hands · The Match Factory Girl · I Hired a Contract Killer · La Vie de Bohème · Take Care of Your Scarf, Tatiana · Leningrad Cowboys Meet Moses · Drifting Clouds · Juha · The Man Without a Past · Lights in the Dusk · Le HavreDocumentaries The Saimaa Gesture · Total Balalaika ShowShort films Rocky VI · Thru the Wire · Rich Little Bitch · L.A. Woman · Those Were The Days · These Boots · Oo aina ihminen · Employment Agent · Dogs Have No Hell · Bico · The FoundryThe Nordic Council Film Prize The Man Without a Past (2002) · Manslaughter (2005) · Zozo (2006) · The Art of Crying (2007) · You, the Living (2008) · Antichrist (2009) · Submarino (2010) · Beyond (2011)
Cinema of FinlandActors • Directors • Films A-Z • Cinematographers • Editors • Producers • Score composers • Screenwriters
Films by year • Pre 1917 • 1917-1939 • 1940s • 1950s • 1960s • 1970s • 1980s • 1990s • 2000s • 2010sCategories:- Finnish films
- Finnish-language films
- 2002 films
- 2000s comedy-drama films
- Films directed by Aki Kaurismäki
- The Salvation Army
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