The Man Without a Past
| The Man Without a Past | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| 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 |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | United International Pictures (Finland) Sony Pictures Classics (United States) |
Release dates |
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Running time | 97 minutes |
| Country | Finland |
| Language | Finnish |
| Budget | €1,206,000 |
| Box office | $9,564,237 |
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, preceded by Drifting Clouds (1996) and followed by Lights in the Dusk (2006). The film follows a man who arrives in Helsinki, is beaten so severely that he develops amnesia, and must reconstruct his life among the city's marginalized community living in shipping containers.
The film premiered in competition at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Grand Prix and the Best Actress Award for Kati Outinen. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 75th Academy Awards, although Kaurismäki controversially boycotted the ceremony in protest of the Iraq War. It is widely considered one of Kaurismäki's most significant works, praised for its deadpan humour, social commentary, and humanist optimism.