Archive of films Other Side of Hope / Toivon tuolla puolen

Finland / Germany
2017, 98 min

Section: Horizons
Year: 2017

A forlorn Syrian refugee and a morose door-to-door shirt salesman form a rather odd couple, but their interaction sends a melancholy yet optimistic message about the strength of solidarity. And fans of the distinctive Finnish director won’t be disappointed: there’ll be plenty of laconic humor, subtly humorous gags, and his inimitable set design.

Synopsis

A cargo ship docks on a cold Finnish shore carrying a stowaway, a Syrian refugee named Khaled. He’s made it to Europe, but an asylum hearing still awaits and the outcome is uncertain. While hope is the last thing to die, he has to accept the possibility of having to live on the streets of Helsinki. At the same time, in another place, morose Wikström is dealing with a family catastrophe. One day he suddenly walks away from his door-to-door shirt-selling business, puts on a stony expression, and heads to the casino with a lifetime of savings. Will he parlay the cash into the restaurant he’s always dreamed of opening? Fans of the distinctive Finnish director will find the hallmarks of his work put to effective use in a story that brings together two disparate lives: laconic humor, subtly humorous gags, and his inimitable set design. And this time as well, Kaurismäki’s cinematic world, in which the situation usually has an unexpected outcome, is governed by an odd set of rules. Presenting a melancholy, yet optimistic message on the strength of solidarity, the picture was a highlight of this year's Berlinale, where it deservedly earned Kaurismäki the Silver Bear for directing.

Martin Horyna

About the director

Aki Kaurismäki (b. 1957, Orimattila, Finland), a truly exceptional director and screenwriter working in European film today, is a regular guest of the top festivals. He was an actor early in his career, including in his brother Mika’s films (Arvottomat, 1982). In features, he first sat in the director’s chair for an adaptation of Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment (1983), but he came to world recognition with his now cult road movie Leningrad Cowboys Go America (1989). In 1992 Karlovy Vary organized a retrospective of Kaurismäki’s movies; the festival has continued to follow the career of the self-taught Finn with an eccentric but magical sense of humor, presenting later work as well: Total Balalaika Show (1994, documentary), Take Care of Your Scarf, Tatiana (1994), Drifting Clouds (1996), Juha (1999), The Man without a Past (2002, Oscar nominee), Lights in the Dusk (2006), and Le Havre (2012).

Contacts

Aerofilms
Milady Horákové 383/79, 170 00, Praha 7
Czech Republic
Tel: +420 224 947 566
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.aerofilms.cz

The Match Factory
Domstrasse 60, 50668, Cologne
Germany
Tel: +49 221 539 7090
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.the-match-factory.com

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About the film

Color, DCP

Section:	Horizons

Director:	Aki Kaurismäki
Screenplay:	Aki Kaurismäki
Dir. of Photography:	Timo Salminen
Editor:	Samu Heikkilä
Art Director:	Ville Grönroos, Heikki Häkkinen, Markku Pätilä
Producer:	Aki Kaurismäki
Production:	Sputnik Oy
Coproduction:	Oy Bufo Ab, Pandora Film
Cast:	Sherwan Haji, Sakari Kuosmanen, Janne Hyytiäinen, Ilkka Koivula, Nuppu Koivu, Simon Hussein Al-Bazoon, Niroz Haji, Kaija Pakarinen
Sales:	The Match Factory
Distributor:	Aerofilms

Guests

Ivo Andrle

Distributor

Sherwan Haji

Actor

Simon Al-Bazoon

Actor