Rated R
Reviewed by: Jim
May 13, 2003		Released by: Sony Pictures Classics

Finland's Oscar-nominated The Man Without A Past moves from amnesia to love artistically that doesn't capitulate to any formulaic search picture.  Director Aki Kaurismaki has made a remarkable comedy that makes quality time for a bank robbery, a beating, and a lovable attack dog named Hannibal.

Kaurimaki's unsentimental humanistic fable concerns a man (Markku Peltola) bandaged like a mummy after arriving in Helsinki looking for work.  This survivor will get up and find shelter and work amid containers in abject poverty.  He'll become intimate with a reclusive, rueful Salvation Army officer, Irma (Kati Outinen) and will play the music of Blind Lemon Jefferson from the jukebox provided by a droll night-watchman.

Kaurismaki and Peltola, who maintains the same visage, mine humor and kindness in ways that enable this shape-shifter to be unforgettable to anyone with a heart and a funny bone.