The Man Without a Past

A man arriving in Helsinki is attacked in a park at night and loses his memory. He does not know his name, his past or where he came from. People living in shipping containers by the harbour take him in. The film does not build the loss of identity as tragedy; the narrative treats building a life from nothing as an almost practical matter: work, rent, a church choir. The humour is dry and the playing deliberately blank. Aki Kaurismaki directed, with Markku Peltola and Kati Outinen. It won the Grand Prix at Cannes. Who it's for: those who like Kaurismaki's quiet humour. Who it's not for: viewers wanting emotional expression; nobody's face changes.