The Other Side of Hope
Criterion Collection Edition #922
Directed by Aki Kaurismäki • 2017 • Finland
Starring Sherwan Haji, Sakari Kuosmanen
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.
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The Other Side of Hope
Directed by Aki Kaurismäki • 2017 • Finland
Starring Sherwan Haji, Sakari KuosmanenThis 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 Helsin...
Extras
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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 HOPE at the Berlin Film Festival
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: “Kaipuuni Tango”
The following video presents the full version of a song that appears in part in THE OTHER SIDE OF HOPE.
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THE OTHER SIDE OF HOPE Music Videos: “Midnight Man”
The following video presents the full version of a song that appears in part in THE OTHER SIDE OF HOPE.
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THE OTHER SIDE OF HOPE Music Videos: “Skulaa Tai Delaa”
The following video presents the full version of a song that appears in part in THE OTHER SIDE OF HOPE.
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THE OTHER SIDE OF HOPE Music Videos: “Tama Maa”
The following video presents the full version of a song that appears in part in THE OTHER SIDE OF HOPE.
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Aki and Peter
THE OTHER SIDE OF HOPE is dedicated to filmmaker Aki Kaurismäki’s longtime friend and collaborator, the film critic and festival programmer Peter von Bagh. In this new video essay, filmmaker Daniel Raim explores Kaurismäki’s oeuvre through the world of von Bagh.
