Der Mann ohne Vergangenheit

A man arrives in Helsinki by train and is shortly afterwards attacked and beaten unconscious. When he regains consciousness in hospital, he has lost his memory. He starts a new life in a container settlement. While the authorities put obstacles in his way as a nameless person, he finds help mainly among the socially disadvantaged and poor. As in most of his films, Kaurismäki criticizes a society that does not care for its weakest members. Kaurismäki's laconic humor and the sparse dialogue typical of his works also characterize this film, which has been described as a “modern fairy tale” due to its positive ending, which is not common in Kaurismäki's oeuvre.