A subtle piece of artwork by Aki Kaurismäki, The Man Without a Past, tugs at the heartstrings of viewers with its simplistic and good nature. After being beaten severely, "M", the main character played by stone-faced Markku Peltola, wakes in a hospital with no knowledge of his life beforehand. He is essentially rescued by a small, poverty-ridden family who helps regain his health in order for him to start his life over again. In starting this new life, he meets a Salvation Army worker by the name of "Irma", played by Kati Outinen, who initially helps him and with whom he immediately feels a comradery with; the two eventually start seeing each other. After being witness to a bank robbery, "M", is confronted by police when he refuses to give personal information under the reasoning of amnesia. The police start looking into his identity and find his lack of involvement in the robbery as well as people from his past.
The theme of isolation and abandonment is prevalent throughout the film. The main characters memory has essentially abandoned him and because of this, he is isolated from his past and he must start over again. He is also isolated from the majority of society because of the fact that he must begin his new life in abject poverty. One of the first things he is able to do is rent a place to live and he spends time cleaning it; essentially clearing the slate for his new life. Besides pure hard work, how does "M" continue on in his new life? The only reason "M" becomes a success story is because of the kindness of others who give "M" opportunities without asking for much, if anything, in return. The biggest example of the kind-heartedness in this film is Irma and the work she does with the Salvation Army. It is important to not ignore the fact that the Salvation Army is affiliated with Christian values and ideals. These Christian values can be attributed to most characters in this film. And contrary to other Nordic films, there is no sex whatsoever in The Man Without A Past. This is definitely something that could be attributed to the Christian moral compass we see in the film.
Although there are strong Christian themes in the film, there are also strong undertones of humor. This is a very different kind of humor. It is a humor that would not be successful to American audiences. The characters rarely change facial expression or voice intonation, but along with this, very witty, humorous things are said constantly. This would be considered very dry humor or even deadpan humor. It comes off as very subtle and a viewer may not understand its intent towards the beginning of the film. However, by the time the idea of the sweetheart of a female dog named "Hannibal" who may tear oneself to shreds is introduced, the humor is well established and becomes more manageable to viewers. The humor is never overt which puts a genuine smile on one's face.
Over the hour and a half the film takes place in, we must notice how slow developing and simple the plot or story is. We simply follow the story of one man and his attempt to begin a new life. We see various situations he is put into and various people he meets, however, we never are troubled with intersecting story lines of different characters. The audience just follows "M" and his struggles. While the story develops, many different things happen such as a new rock band is formed and the viewer is expected to just accept the new happenings rather than question them. The question of, "why?" is not an issue. Why is the new rock band formed? Just because it is.
The Man Without A Past is a truly delightful and genuine comedic drama that shows a simple idea and story can be just as engaging as the most complicated of stories. The film highlights the good nature of simple people who truly feel the need to help the main character begin his life anew. Although the humor may be lost to some, especially American audiences, it breaks up the depressing difficulties "M" must deal with in his new life. As vicious as "Hannibal's" owner makes "Hannibal" seem, the dog really puts a light in "M's" eyes for the first time in the film and us as the audience root for him to succeed from that point on.
The theme of isolation and abandonment is prevalent throughout the film. The main characters memory has essentially abandoned him and because of this, he is isolated from his past and he must start over again. He is also isolated from the majority of society because of the fact that he must begin his new life in abject poverty. One of the first things he is able to do is rent a place to live and he spends time cleaning it; essentially clearing the slate for his new life. Besides pure hard work, how does "M" continue on in his new life? The only reason "M" becomes a success story is because of the kindness of others who give "M" opportunities without asking for much, if anything, in return. The biggest example of the kind-heartedness in this film is Irma and the work she does with the Salvation Army. It is important to not ignore the fact that the Salvation Army is affiliated with Christian values and ideals. These Christian values can be attributed to most characters in this film. And contrary to other Nordic films, there is no sex whatsoever in The Man Without A Past. This is definitely something that could be attributed to the Christian moral compass we see in the film.
Although there are strong Christian themes in the film, there are also strong undertones of humor. This is a very different kind of humor. It is a humor that would not be successful to American audiences. The characters rarely change facial expression or voice intonation, but along with this, very witty, humorous things are said constantly. This would be considered very dry humor or even deadpan humor. It comes off as very subtle and a viewer may not understand its intent towards the beginning of the film. However, by the time the idea of the sweetheart of a female dog named "Hannibal" who may tear oneself to shreds is introduced, the humor is well established and becomes more manageable to viewers. The humor is never overt which puts a genuine smile on one's face.
Over the hour and a half the film takes place in, we must notice how slow developing and simple the plot or story is. We simply follow the story of one man and his attempt to begin a new life. We see various situations he is put into and various people he meets, however, we never are troubled with intersecting story lines of different characters. The audience just follows "M" and his struggles. While the story develops, many different things happen such as a new rock band is formed and the viewer is expected to just accept the new happenings rather than question them. The question of, "why?" is not an issue. Why is the new rock band formed? Just because it is.
The Man Without A Past is a truly delightful and genuine comedic drama that shows a simple idea and story can be just as engaging as the most complicated of stories. The film highlights the good nature of simple people who truly feel the need to help the main character begin his life anew. Although the humor may be lost to some, especially American audiences, it breaks up the depressing difficulties "M" must deal with in his new life. As vicious as "Hannibal's" owner makes "Hannibal" seem, the dog really puts a light in "M's" eyes for the first time in the film and us as the audience root for him to succeed from that point on.