The Other Side of Hope
The Other Side of Hope • 1h 40m
Directed by Aki Kaurismäki • 2017 • Finland
This wry, melancholic comedy from Aki Kaurismäki, a response to the ongoing global refugee crisis, follows two people searching for a place to call home. Khaled (Sherwan Haji), a displaced Syrian, lands in Helsinki as a stowaway; meanwhile, middle-aged Finnish salesman Wikström (Sakari Kuosmanen) leaves his wife and his job and buys a conspicuously unprofitable restaurant. Khaled is denied asylum but decides not to return to Aleppo, and the paths of the two men cross fortuitously. As deadpan as the best of the director's work, and with a deep well of empathy for its down-but-not-out characters (many of them played by members of Kaurismäki's loyal stock company), THE OTHER SIDE OF HOPE is a bittersweet celebration of pockets of human kindness in an unwelcoming world.
Up Next in The Other Side of Hope
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Sherwan Haji on THE OTHER SIDE OF HOPE
In this interview shot in 2017, actor Sherwan Haji discusses his move to Finland, working with director Aki Kaurismäki, and the ongoing plight of Syrian refugees.
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Aki Kaurismäki on THE OTHER SIDE OF H...
In this press conference, held after the premiere of THE OTHER SIDE OF HOPE at the Berlin Film Festival in February 2017, Aki Kaurismäki discusses his humanistic approach to filmmaking. He won the festival’s Silver Bear award for best director for the film.
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THE OTHER SIDE OF HOPE Music Videos: ...
The following video presents the full version of a song that appears in part in THE OTHER SIDE OF HOPE.
