THE MAN WITHOUT A PAST review

It has been a long time since I’ve seen a film that completely reminded me of a classic Cassavetes film. Not that this movie copied it in any way, only the feeling reminded me of Cassavetes. The essence of the film.

THE MAN WITHOUT A PAST is a fairly simple story of amnesia. A man has arrived at Helsinki, Finland. Why? I don’t know. He has his suitcase and no place to stay. He falls asleep on a park bench on this cool night. A roving gang of 3 hoodlums comes across him and decides to destroy his life. Why? Well, what else are they gonna do?

They beat him nearly to death, take his wallet with his identification, they throw it away. The man comes to, makes his way to a train station, to a bathroom where he collapses upon the floor. His face, which we haven’t seen yet in the film, is like a tenderized flank steak. He is found, taken to a hospital, pronounced dead when he flatlines. Nothing is done to revive him. His bandaged face, hiding a misshapened inhuman visage one imagines. Suddenly he sits up. Pulls the wires from his body and leaves the hospital. He collapses upon a waterfront – and is found by folks living in railway containers turned into homes for the homeless, managed by a security guard thug.

This man doesn’t know his skills, his name, his history. He speaks the language and assumes he must be from Finland, but other than that… he knows nothing, can prove nothing… in short he is nothing.

This describes perhaps the first 15 minutes of THE MAN WITHOUT A PAST, and the rest of the film… wow.

First, can I praise Markku Peltola enough for his portrayal of a man with nothing but a future that he wishes to conquer, not knowing the failures of his past? I’m not sure. All I know is if I was making a film with a strong silent type, Markku Peltola would be my lead. This guy is tremendously charismatic on screen. He’s got that John Garfield pugilistic mitt of a face. He also reminds me of Preston Sturges’ era Joel McCrea. There’s something heroic about this man that operates from instinct with no doubts. The way he dresses for one is classic… a brown scuffed up (to perfection) leather soiled jacket… usually over a L.B. Cole primary solid colored polished cotton shirt. In the world he’s in, his shirt is usually the liveliest object in the room. There is something so empowering about Markku’s character just seizing the life he’s been given a fresh start in, and the vibrancy he imbues those around him with is catching.

Watching him take each of the “for the poor” hand-outs and opportunities and twist them into successful enterprises… it gives ya hope. You root for this fella. He isn’t playing the victim that you might expect a man with a similar woe to have, he is all about the next move, the next opportunity, the next discovery in his life. I honestly did not want this movie to end, because I was waiting for him to be declared the leader of planet Earth.

There’s a saying that those that do not know history are doomed to repeat it, but this film seems to be saying that those that do not know their own history are no longer doomed to be tied to it’s limitations. That’s a strong empowering message to put the past behind you and live each day as though it were the rest of your life that depended upon it.

It was sad though… This was a small screening that Sony Classics set up for me to see. I had tried to talk many friends into coming to check it out with me, but failed to get any of them interested. “A Finnish Film?” was always the question. What’s it about? Who’s in it? And when I said that I didn’t know the actors or the plot, they seemed to not be willing to give it a chance. They asked who directed it, and when I’d say Aki Kaurismaki, they’d ask what he’d directed, and I’d tell them ROCKY VI and they’d recoil in horror. I’d say, “But it is nominated for Best Foreign Film,” and they’d shrug and say that Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN, TALK TO HER and CITY OF GOD were not nominated, as if to say… “What the fuck does the Academy Know?”

Well, that’s exactly what I wanted to find out. I hadn’t seen any of Aki’s Finnish work, which I knew to be acclaimed. I knew next to nothing about the film, which is a plus in my book, given I walk into so many movies knowing so much. This would be a welcome reprieve from the regular theatrical trip.

The film is a constant series of surprises and revelations, each better than the previous. The film defies expectations and is absolutely a warm blanket film. One of those movies that makes you feel better about the next 30 minutes in your life, hopeful about the next week and to dream of how the rest will follow.

Now for the sad news. Unless this film wins Best Foreign Film, I don’t know if many of you will get a chance to see it. I have no knowledge of what Sony Pictures Classics has in store for its release, but I will say this… If you love great story telling, characters and culture. If you can think past McDonalds and Burger King and can imagine a good time living in a waterfront community of the discarded living in railroad containers living off the handouts of the Salvation Army… then you’ll love this movie. It is about life being the best whether it is at the top or bottom, richer or poorer. It is hilariously tragic and terribly fun.