The Other Side of Hope

The Other Side of Hope

The Telegraph

Out now on DVD, Blu-ray & on demand

Paths of Finnish travelling salesman and Syrian refugee cross in Berlin Silver Bear winner Aki Kaurismäki's timely comedy-drama.

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Synopsis

Finland’s master of deadpan comedy, Aki Kaurismäki (Lights in the Dusk, Le Havre), returns with the story of an unlikely friendship between a Syrian asylum seeker and an elderly Finnish restaurant owner. Winner of the Berlin Silver Bear for Best Director, it’s a beautiful, timely film from one of the world's leading auteurs. Khaled (Sherwan Haji) arrives at the port of Helsinki concealed in a coal container, fleeing war-torn Syria to seek asylum in Finland. Dazed and frustrated by the monolithic administration he encounters at the detention centre, he makes a break for it and heads out onto the streets. There he meets Wikström (Sakari Kuosmanen), a former shirt salesman who has recently left his alcoholic wife for a new life as a bachelor restaurateur. Together, they help each other to navigate the adversities they face in these unfamiliar and often baffling new worlds. With hilarious sight gags, poker-faced one liners and a toe-tapping rockabilly soundtrack, Kaurismäki’s latest balances his unparalleled wit with a pressing critique of the unforgiving bureaucracy that greets vulnerable asylum seekers in modern-day Europe. Humane and sincere, it's proof of cinema's power to tell stories that matter, with beauty and heart.

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Director

Aki Kaurismäki

Cast

Sherwan Haji: Khaled Sakari Kuosmanen: Wikström Janne Hyytiäinen: Nyrhinen Ilkka Koivula: Calamnius Nuppu Koivu: Mirja Simon Hussein Al-Bazoon: Mazdak Niroz Haji: Miriam Kaija Pakarinen: Wife

Crew

Aki Kaurismäki: Director / writer / producer Timo Salminen: Director of Photography Samu Heikkilä: Editor Tero Malmberg: Sound Designer Ville Grönroos: Production Design #1 Heikki Häkkinen: Production Design #2 Markku Pätilä: Production Design #3 Tiina Kaukanen: Costumes and Make-up

Details

Original title: Toivon tuolla puolen Production year: 2017 DVD catalogue number: ART827DVD Blu-ray catalogue number: ART214BD With the support of the Creative Europe Programme - MEDIA

Awards

Winner of Best Director Silver Bear at the 2017 Berlin Film Festival

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Out now on DVD, Blu-ray & on demand

GENRE: Drama, Comedy

DIRECTOR: Aki Kaurismäki

CAST:
Sherwan Haji: Khaled
Sakari Kuosmanen: Wikström
Janne Hyytiäinen: Nyrhinen
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CREW:
Aki Kaurismäki: Director / writer / producer
Timo Salminen: Director of Photography
Samu Heikkilä: Editor
VIEW ALL

DURATION: 98 Mins

COUNTRIES: Finland, Germany

LANGUAGES: English, Arabic, Finnish

AWARDS:
Winner of Best Director Silver Bear at the 2017 Berlin Film Festival

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Reviews

“Finds the artist at the height of his powers... Winsome, sweet, and often very funny”

David Ehrlich, Indiewire
“Gorgeous, cuttingly poignant”

Tim Robey, The Telegraph
“Sympathetic and charming”

Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
“Touching and compassionate... a deeply humane film, as well as a quietly hilarious one”

Dave Calhoun, Time Out
“It works, it charms, it often entrances”

Nigel Andrews, Financial Times
“A masterpiece... The warmest, most life-enhancing film I’ve seen this year”

Saskia Baron, The Arts Desk