The Man Without a Past

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The Man Without a Past

PG-13

Released Apr 4, 2003

1h 37m

Comedy

Drama

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Popcornmeter

98%

Tomatometer

99 Reviews

90%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

After a brutal beating in a Helsinki park, a middle-aged welder (Markku Peltola) falls into a coma. When he wakes up, he cannot recollect a single detail about his life. Unable to provide information to the authorities, the man has no legal way to regain his life. He finds a community of homeless people, and creates a home out of a metal container. He eventually meets Irma (Kati Outinen), a Salvation Army worker, and they fall in love while he rebuilds a life with new friends and a new job.

Critics Consensus

Kaurismäki delivers another droll comedy full of his trademark humor.

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Empire Magazine

Rated: 4/5

Dec 30, 2006

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Jay Boyar

Orlando Sentinel

Kaurismaki's movies can tickle you with the briefest of statements, the smallest of gestures.

Rated: 4/5

Aug 29, 2003

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

At the end of The Man Without a Past, I felt a deep but indefinable contentment.

Rated: 3.5/4

Jun 27, 2003

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Farah Cheded

A Good Movie To Watch

It’s not often a movie can so persuasively reassure us of people’s inherent goodness, but it’s even rarer still for it to be done with as much deceptive, charming simplicity as here.

Sep 2, 2023

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Barbara Majsa

barbaramajsa.com

M is a multilayered character. He is both an outcast and an artist, but he could be much more. He is no one and everyone, and Helsinki for him is nothing and everything.

Feb 22, 2020

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Jeffrey Overstreet

Christianity Today

With its rusty railroads and dingy metal canisters where the downtrodden dwell, [this film] finds color, surprise, and joy in the simplicity of struggling Helsinki outcasts.

Rated: B+

Mar 16, 2019

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Cam H

This movie should go down as once of the greatest films made. I’m obsessed with this movie

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/23/24

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Aender S

There's over-acting, but there's also under-acting like in this film. It still achieves to transmit the characters' feelings to the viewer, great film.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/13/24

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Dani G

One of my favorite Aki Kaurismaki films. All the elements, and even his muse present here, but this one has something special

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/24

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Abhijit S

The first Kaurismäki film that I watched. Mesmerising, magical storytelling. Have watched the movie countless times and each time a new nuance emerged.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/03/23

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Audience Member

Well-written and well-performed on realistically pondering what would it be like if we lost our memorable selves and it becomes shared diegetic knowledge when unfolding the character with satisfying turns, even if it has to involve few disruptive connections that lingers between mysterious and unrelatable apart from the prompt's aforementioned effect. (B+)

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/17/23

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dave s

As with all of his films, Aki Kaurismaki's The Man Without a Past is minimalism at its best. After taking a severe beating and being pronounced dead, the nameless protagonist rises from his hospital bed and embarks on a new life with no memory of his past. The humor is droll, the performances are generally emotionless, the dialogue is laconic and the pace is unhurried. And, like all of Kaurismaki's works, it is wildly successful, as improbable as that may sound. Among other things, it deals with the issue of identity – is it determined by our past or by how those in the present perceive us? Granted, it's not for all tastes, but, for those willing to go along for the ride, it is a joy to watch.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

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Aki Kaurismäki

Director

Markku Peltola

M

Kati Outinen

Irma

Juhani Niemelä

Nieminen

Kaija Pakarinen

Kaisa

Sakari Kuosmanen

Anttila

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Synopsis

After a brutal beating in a Helsinki park, a middle-aged welder (Markku Peltola) falls into a coma. When he wakes up, he cannot recollect a single detail about his life. Unable to provide information to the authorities, the man has no legal way to regain his life. He finds a community of homeless people, and creates a home out of a metal container. He eventually meets Irma (Kati Outinen), a Salvation Army worker, and they fall in love while he rebuilds a life with new friends and a new job.

Director: Aki Kaurismäki
Producer: Aki Kaurismäki
Screenwriter: Aki Kaurismäki
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Production Co: Sputnik Oy, Bavaria Film, Pyramide Productions, Pandora Filmproduktion, Yleisradio
Rating: PG-13 (Some Violence)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: Finnish
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 4, 2003, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 28, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $921.5K
Runtime: 1h 37m
Sound Mix: Dolby Stereo, Dolby Digital, Dolby A, Surround, Dolby SR
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)