"Aki Kaurismäki is Finland's most famous director, and together with his older brother Mika, he once accounted for a third of the country's film output. His films are characterized by laconic humour, detached irony and smoking - he could be considered the Nordic cousin of Jim Jarmusch... Directors who rigorously pursue the same themes through the same visual idioms can often become parodies of their former selves, but Kaurismäki has been honing his instinct and finessing his palette. He has made some classics, like Match Factory Girl, Ariel and Leningrad Cowboys Go America, but it was the deadpan and soulful The Man Without a Past that epitomized classic Kaurismäki  with its ambient melancholy, impressive low-key acting, and spirited and quirky use of music." - Lloyd Hughes, The Rough Guide to Film