Review: The Other Side Of Hope

Image courtesy of Janus Films.

The films of Finnish director Aki Kaurismaki could best be described as deadpan miserablist humanism. The characters in his films are often down on their luck, rarely smile and live seemingly bleak lives - and yet, they often find joy in simple things, play in rockabilly bands and tend to treat others pretty well.

Kaurismaki's latest, "The Other Side of Hope," utilizes some of the typical themes, actors and visual set-ups of his previous pictures and it features a story of an immigrant in need of assistance, similar to his previous movie, "Le Havre," which is most likely my favorite among his works. "The Other Side of Hope" is a gently comedic and emotionally engrossing story that indicates Kaurismaki's belief that people can be inherently good when called upon to do so. It's a movie that counters much of what is actually going on in the world today. In other words, it's a fable.

At the beginning of the picture, Syrian refugee Khaled (Sherwan Haji) awakens on a boat in which he is a stowaway. He has fled Aleppo after most of his family was killed and was separated from his sister in eastern Europe and now intends to find her. He pleads his case to the local authorities and has to await a response as to whether he can remain in the country. After finding out that he will be sent back to the war-torn nation from which he has fled, he makes a run for it.

Khaled winds up sleeping in the back alley of a restaurant that has been recently purchased by a man named Wikstrom (Sakari Kuosmanen), a gambler who wants to put his money toward something useful. When Wikstrom purchases The Golden Pint, it's a dump that employs a constantly smoking cook, austere maitre d' and female bartender. After he spruces the place up, it's still a dump and there's a funny running joke regarding how Wikstrom and his straight-faced employees continually change the place from being a French bistro to a Japanese sushi house and then an Indian restaurant.

Although they first engage in fisticuffs, Wikstrom eventually decides it's the right thing to do to give Khaled some food, shelter and a job. Much like the residents of the titular town in "Le Havre," protecting the powerless - in the case of both films, refugees - isn't just portrayed as a valorous choice, but as the only choice in a humane world.

After Khaled finds himself on his feet, he sets out to find his sister. Along the way, he runs into a pack of skinhead bigots, who consistently make trouble for him. The film ends on a note that I believe to be ambiguous. But there's no ambiguity to Kaurismaki's film otherwise - "The Other Side of Hope" is a charming, funny, poignant and goodhearted movie told in the director's deadpan style and with shimmers of optimism amid all the gloom surrounding his characters. It's a film that calls for empathy during a time in which little can be found.