The Man Without a Past (Finnish: Mies vailla menneisyyttä) 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]
The Man Without a Past | |
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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 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.
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.
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]
Award | Year | Category | Recipient | Result | Ref. |
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ACCEC Awards | 2002 | Best Foreign Film | Aki Kaurismäki | Won | [citation needed] |
Academy Awards | 2002 | Best Foreign Language Film | Nominated | [8] | |
Argentinean Film Critics Association Awards | 2002 | Best Foreign Film | Nominated | [citation needed] | |
Bangkok International Film Festival | 2003 | Best Actress | Kati Outinen | Won | [9][10][11] |
Best Screenplay | Aki Kaurismäki | Won | |||
Best Film | Aki Kaurismäki | Nominated | |||
Bodil Awards | 2002 | Best Non-American Film | Aki Kaurismäki | Nominated | [citation needed] |
Camerimage | 2002 | Golden Frog | Timo Salminen | Nominated | [citation needed] |
Cannes Film Festival | 2002 | Best Actress | Kati Outinen | Won | [12] |
Grand Prize of the Jury | Aki Kaurismäki | Won | |||
Prize of the Ecumenical Jury | Aki Kaurismäki | Won | |||
Golden Palm | Aki Kaurismäki | Nominated | |||
Palm Dog | Tähti | Won | |||
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards | 2002 | Best Foreign Language Film | Nominated | [citation needed] | |
César Awards | 2002 | Best European Union Film | Nominated | [citation needed] | |
European Film Awards | 2002 | Audience Award - Best Director | Aki Kaurismäki | Nominated | [citation needed] |
Best Actor | Markku Peltola | Nominated | |||
Best Actress | Kati Outinen | Nominated | |||
Best Cinematographer | Timo Salminen | Nominated | |||
Best Director | Aki Kaurismäki | Nominated | |||
Best Film | Aki Kaurismäki | Nominated | |||
Best Screenwriter | Aki Kaurismäki | Nominated | |||
Fajr Film Festival | 2002 | International Competition - Best Screenplay | Aki Kaurismäki | Won | [citation needed] |
Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards | 2002 | Best Foreign-Language Film | Nominated | [citation needed] | |
Flanders International Film Festival | 2002 | Grand Prix | Aki Kaurismäki | Won | [citation needed] |
Guldbagge Awards | 2002 | Best Foreign Film | Won | [citation needed] | |
Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists | 2002 | Best Director - Foreign Film | Aki Kaurismäki | Nominated | [citation needed] |
Jussi Awards | 2002 | Best Film | Won | [citation needed] | |
Best Actress | Kati Outinen | Won | |||
Best Cinematography | Timo Salminen | Won | |||
Best Direction | Aki Kaurismäki | Won | |||
Best Editing | Timo Linnasalo | Won | |||
Best Script | Aki Kaurismäki | Won | |||
Best Actor | Markku Peltola | Nominated | |||
Lübeck Nordic Film Days | 2002 | Audience Prize | Aki Kaurismäki | Won | [citation needed] |
National Society of Film Critics Awards | 2002 | Best Foreign Language Film | Won | [citation needed] | |
Nordic Council | 2002 | Nordic Council's Film Prize | Aki Kaurismäki | Won | [citation needed] |
Palm Springs International Film Festival | 2002 | FIPRESCI Prize | Aki Kaurismäki | Won | [citation needed] |
Robert Festival | 2002 | Best Non-American Film | Aki Kaurismäki | Nominated | [citation needed] |
San Sebastián International Film Festival | 2002 | FIPRESCI Film of the Year | Aki Kaurismäki | Won | [citation needed] |
Films directed by Aki Kaurismäki | |
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