The Man Without a Past (2002)
94%RT Audience Score: 90%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 1 Oscar
21 wins & 27 nominations total
Kaurismäki delivers another droll comedy full of his trademark humor.
The Man Without a Past is a movie that will leave you feeling content and maybe even a little confused, just like the main character M. But don’t worry, it’s a good kind of confusion. This film is a slow-paced, multilayered story about outcasts in Helsinki, and it’s done with wicked humor and humanity. It’s like a quirky adventure that’s both dour and delightful at the same time. And let’s not forget the rusty railroads and dingy metal canisters that add color and surprise to the struggling Helsinki setting. Overall, it’s a powerful film that will make you think about wiping the slate clean and living in a utopian community of barter and free association.
Production Company(ies)
Sputnik Yleisradio Pandora Filmproduktion,
Distributor
Sony Pictures Classics
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Helsinki, Finland
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for some violence
Year of Release
2002
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 37m
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Language(s):Finnish
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Apr 4, 2003 Original
Release Date (Streaming): May 1, 2008
Genre(s)
Comedy/Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Markku Peltola, Kati Outinen, Juhani Niemelä, Kaija Pakarinen, Sakari Kuosmanen, Annikki Tähti, directed by Aki Kaurismäki, written by Aki Kaurismäki, comedy, drama, PG-13 rating, box office gross $921.5K, reviewed by Jay Boyar, Roger Ebert, Michael Wilmington, Sara Michelle Fetters, Richard Nilsen, Kimberley Jones, Barbara Majsa, Jeffrey Overstreet, Josh Larsen, Anton Bitel, Boyd van Hoeij, Daniel Kasman, Finnish language, Sony Pictures Classics, Dolby Stereo, Dolby Digital, Dolby A, Surround, Dolby SR, flat aspect ratio, amnesia, homeless community, Salvation Army, metal container, welder, Helsinki, Finland, community, friendship, love, simplicity, utopian, barter, free association, internal coherence, storytelling, visual style, humanity, melancholy, universal humor, warmth, idiosyncrasies
Worldwide gross: $9,564,237
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $15,862,886
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,797
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 1,729,868
US/Canada gross: $921,847
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $1,528,941
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,098
US/Canada opening weekend: $23,281
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $38,613
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,278
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): FIM 8,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Kati Outinen – Irma
Juhani Niemelä – Nieminen
Kaija Pakarinen – Kaisa
Sakari Kuosmanen – Anttila
Annikki Tähti – Manager of Flea Market
Director(s)
Aki Kaurismäki
Writer(s)
Aki Kaurismäki
Producer(s)
Aki Kaurismäki
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 Oscar
21 wins & 27 nominations total
Academy Awards
All Critics (99) | Top Critics (36) | Fresh (97) | Rotten (2)
Kaurismaki’s movies can tickle you with the briefest of statements, the smallest of gestures.
August 29, 2003 | Rating: 4/5
Jay Boyar
Orlando Sentinel
TOP CRITIC
At the end of The Man Without a Past, I felt a deep but indefinable contentment.
June 27, 2003 | Rating: 3.5/4
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
TOP CRITIC
A powerful film made with minimal means, it’s a story of poor people on the fringes of society, done without sentimentality or condescension but with wicked humor.
June 27, 2003 | Rating: 4/4
Michael Wilmington
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
After watching it, I wasn’t too sure myself if my choices would be any different than those M makes. He has no clue as to the life he’s led, only feelings that tell him he wasn’t the type of man he necessarily wanted to be.
June 19, 2003 | Rating: 3.5/4
Sara Michelle Fetters
MovieFreak.com
TOP CRITIC
Deliciously slow-paced film.
June 19, 2003 | Rating: 4/5
Richard Nilsen
Arizona Republic
TOP CRITIC
June 8, 2003 | Rating: 3/5
Kimberley Jones
Austin Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
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.
February 22, 2020
Barbara Majsa
barbaramajsa.com
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.
March 16, 2019 | Rating: B+
Jeffrey Overstreet
Christianity Today
…dourly delightful.
May 19, 2016 | Rating: 3.5/4
Josh Larsen
LarsenOnFilm
M’s past… is almost an irrelevance, for Kaurismki’s film is really concerned with the possibility of wiping the slate clean and replacing globalised, corporate living with the values of a utopian community of barter and free association.
May 4, 2015
Anton Bitel
Daily Info
What sets this film apart from other quirky adventures is its internal coherence (both in terms of storytelling and visual style) as well as the humanity of its characters.
February 20, 2005
Boyd van Hoeij
european-films.net
August 7, 2004 | Rating: B+
Daniel Kasman
d+kaz. intelligent movie reviews…
Plot
After a brutal beating, a middle-aged welder wakes up from a coma with no memory of his past and no legal way to regain his life. He finds a community of homeless people and falls in love with a Salvation Army worker while rebuilding a new life with new friends and a new job in The Man Without a Past.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The cast of The Man Without a Past includes Markku Peltola, Kati Outinen, Juhani Niemelä, Kaija Pakarinen, Sakari Kuosmanen, and Annikki Tähti.
Aki-Kaurismäki.jpg
