The Man without a past

Typically quirky feature from Finnish director Aki Kaurismaki about a man, M, who travels to Helsinki, is brutally bashed, and loses his identity after suffering from amnesia. Knowing nothing about his past, M is adopted by a community of vagrants, living in shipping containers on the wharf. Despite the harsh conditions, the residents find enough food and shelter to keep them comfortable and even participate in festive evenings. M fits nicely into his new environs, eventually meeting a young woman with whom romance blossoms. Utilising his signature dark humour Kaurismaki explores the idea that happiness is what you make of life in this relatively upbeat, humanistic and wry work.