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THE
MAN WITHOUT A PAST
8/10
Mies Vailla Menneisyytta : Finland 2002 : Aki Kaurismaki : 97 mins
Moments
after a middle-aged man (Markku Peltola) arrives in Helsinki by train,
he’s attacked and left for dead by baseball-bat-wielding thieves. In hospital
he apparently dies from his injuries – but then jumps off his death-bed,
his memory a complete blank, and starts a whole new life from scratch.
Existing in very Finnish zone between film noir, fairytale cartoon, David
Lynch, and morality play, Kaurismaki’s latest is a typically whimsical,
stylised, deadpan comedy, played – after that startlingly violent opening
– at a seductively gentle pace. With the exception of the murderous thugs,
Kaurismaki is clearly in love with everyone on screen – but thankfully
manages to avoid any trace of sentimental gloop, delivering instead a
genuinely delightful romantic fable set to a cracking soundtrack of 50s-flavoured
rockabilly-ish hits.
30th November, 2002
(seen 26th November, Tyneside Cinema)
Click
here for the longer version of this review.
by Neil
Young
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