The second installment of Aki Kaurismaki's (Drifting Clouds, Lights In The Dusk) 'Finland Trilogy', The Man Without A Past (Mies vailla menneisyyttä) is a touching and amusing film that portays a man who must start his life anew when he is brutally mugged and loses his memory.

On his arrival in Helsinki 'M' is mugged and set upon by thugs and is pronounced dead by doctors at the hospital. By some miracle however, he wakes up and walks out under his own power. Unable to remember his past, M is forced to rebuild his life from scratch. After a rocky start with a new family, he finds a new job and a new girlfriend. But it is not too long before the past inevitably catches up with him.

Aki Kaurismäki is one of Finland's most prolific filmmakers and without question its most internationally celebrated. Beginning his career directing the critically acclaimed The Liar with his older brother Mika, he went on to produce some of Finland's most famous international films, including the outstanding Leningrad Cowboys Go America.

Celebrated for its deadpan humour, Kaurismaki's The Man Without A Past is an honest and direct piece of cinema. Although quirky, incongruous and absurd, the film is full of genuine tenderness and understanding of the human desire for independence and true love, set against the bleak poverty of a broken Helsinki.

Hugely successful on its theatrical release, The Man Without A Past garenered more than 20 awards at international film festivals and a further 21 nominations including an Oscar in 2003. Previously released on UK DVD by Optimum, it will be re-released courtesy of ICA Films on 21st September 2009 at the RRP of £12.99.