The Other Side of Hope (Toivon tuolla puolen)
DFI Cinema
Aki Kaurismäki / Feature Narrative / Finland, Germany / 2017 / Colour
In Arabic, English, Finnish, Swedish / Arabic, English subtitles
Interests: Drama
Rated: Parental guidance advised for viewers under the age of 15. Individuals under the age of 15 are not admitted into cinemas unless accompanied by an individual aged 18 or over.
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Synopsis
‘The Other Side of Hope’ follows two people searching for a place to call home. Displaced Syrian Khaled (Sherwan Haji) lands in Helsinki as a stowaway; meanwhile, middle-aged salesman Wikström (Sakari Kuosmanen) leaves behind his wife and job and buys a conspicuously unprofitable seafood restaurant. After Khaled is denied asylum, he decides not to return to Aleppo, and the paths of the two men cross fortuitously. Perhaps seeing something of himself in the battered man, Wikström hires Khaled as a cleaner and a dishwasher in his restaurant. As deadpan as the best of the Kaurismäki's work, and with a deep well of empathy for its down-but-not-out characters, ‘The Other Side of Hope’ is a bittersweet tale of human kindness in the face of official indifference.
About the Director
Aki Kaurismäki is a Finland’s best-known screenwriter and film director. After graduating in media studies from the University of Tampere, Aki Kaurismäki started his career as a co-screenwriter and actor in films made by his older brother, Mika Kaurismäki. Together they founded the production company Villealfa Filmproductions and later the Midnight Sun Film Festival.His debut as an independent director was ‘Crime and Punishment’ (1983), an adaptation of Dostoyevsky's novel set in modern Helsinki. He later gained worldwide attention with ‘Leningrad Cowboys Go America’ (1989).
Credits
- Director
- Aki Kaurismäki
- Screenwriter
- Aki Kaurismäki
- Editor
- Samu Heikkilä
- Cinematographer
- Timo Salminen
- Distributor
- MT Lebanon
- Cast
- Ville Virtanen, Dome Karukoski, Kati Outinen, Tommi Korpela, Sherwan Haji, Sakari Kuosmanen