dir. Aki Kaurismaki
writ. Aki Kaurismaki
feat. Markku Peltola, Kati Outinen, Juhani Niemela, Kaija Pakarinen, Sakari Kuosmanen
Kaurismaki's tale of a man who suffers amnesia as a result of a brutal beating rambles along in typical dry indie comedy fashion with plenty of awkward moments, simple static shots that are cleverly framed and heavily saturated, and hands-off parable intentions, never quite putting a finger on a decisive point yet hinting at a list of reassessed life values. It strips the histrionics out of the lost amnesiac story, instead detailing the quiet plodding actions of a man with the need (and chance) to start over, the struggle to begin with nothing, and to figure out the simple things that make life worth living.
M (Peltola) faces the problems of rebuilding a life with gentle good nature, unflustered by insults or threats, weaving his way to better things. Unfortunately, in this calm plodding, the humor and pathos are kept on such a low flame, that though engaging, the film never bubbles over into something more gripping and transcendent. Though the picture may have set it sights lower, the delivery and action is so deliberately down tempo, the viewer is left wanting, in need of something more to give the story purpose.
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