The Other Side of Hope

Released Dec 1, 2017

1h 38m

Comedy

Drama

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The Other Side of Hope: Trailer 1

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Tomatometer

109 Reviews

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Audience Score

500+ Ratings

A poker-playing restaurateur and former traveling salesman befriends a group of refugees that has recently arrived in Finland.

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Critics Consensus

Writer-director Aki Kaurismäki further sharpens his craft with The Other Side of Hope, offering a timely drama whose melancholy air is leavened by its empathy.

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Jordan Hoffman

amNewYork

The humor in The Other side of Hope doesn't necessarily emerge from jokes - sometimes it's just a well-placed shot of a dog - but it shows how human kindness rarely takes the form of grandiose Hallmark-ready overtures.

Rated: 3/4

Jan 10, 2019

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Paul Byrnes

Sydney Morning Herald

Most of the characters face a daily question: to be kind or unkind. Kaurismaki builds a heroic narrative around that idea.

Rated: 4/5

Mar 28, 2018

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David Stratton

The Australian

Admirers of the director's work will embrace his famously deadpan style, minimalist sense of humour, static camera and grimy production design...a (relatively) minor Kaurismaki film is still head and shoulders over much of today's cinema.

Rated: 4/5

Mar 23, 2018

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Michael J. Casey

Michael J. Cinema

Lovely and humane film, but it is Kaurismaki's idiosyncratic framing and structure that make it hilarious at the same time.

Rated: 3.5/5

Apr 14, 2021

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Dennis Harvey

48 Hills

This latest by Finland's leading filmmaker Aki Kaurismaki is his best in years, a potentially precious little fable whose inner warmth is well-cloaked in a healthy dose of his characteristic deadpan humor.

Oct 19, 2020

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Gisela Savdie

El Heraldo

Different people in desperate situations get together in unexpected, and sometimes marvelous ways [Full Review in Spanish]

Sep 19, 2020

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isla s

I enjoyed this film a lot. The characters are quirky and likeable, with interesting backgrounds and I found myself hoping for a good outcome for the main character, Khaled (played by Sherwan Haji). We learn about what he's left behind when he talks to people at a Refugee centre. There are many scenes in which little is said, by way of dialogue but its pretty clear what emotions are meant to be felt by the viewer. Its reasonably thoughtful - certainly the main theme being about immigration and somewhat lightly about perserverance but also perhaps about assimilation. Its not what I think of as a greatly comic film but it does have a somwhat warm feel to it which is lacking from other dramas. I felt the characterisation was particularly good in this film and that really makes it worth seeing. I liked the variety of characters and the way that things were expressed at times, including with the use of music or not. I was quite keen on the music, which has perhaps a bit of a folk soul/blues type feel to it. One thing I would say is that the plot pace is a little slow and could be seen as meandering perhaps to some. Its probably better at being at its one hour and 40 minute total running time - some films these days can feel over-stretched but this didn't seem especially so. I enjoyed the numerous situations the characters found themselves adapting to and how they worked around setbacks, although (as I say) it may seem a little bland to some I suppose. This is perhaps best described as part social commentary, part quirky comic-drama. Its somewhat understated but I like that about it. I'd recommend this film to fans of world cinema and thoughtful, if slow (pace wise) comedy/drama films. I'll certainly keep an eye out for Sherwan Haji in other films.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

"The Other Side of Hope" creates a stirring tapestry of intermittently tragic and wryly comic elements, evoking in the process a view with a deep reverence for mankind's compassion alongside a sad acknowledgment of its failings. In championing awareness of the global refugee crisis in the unique fashion in which only he can, Kaurismaki presents a filter through which beneficence and malevolence combine into a static state of foreboding uncertainty that is nonetheless potent for its ambiguity. Watching "The Other Side of Hope," we are ever aware of the seriousness of the film's underlying themes despite its wise refusal to grow overbearing and heavy-handed; we are content to laugh while brushing away the occasional tear.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/14/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A dramatic comedy full of humanism and, as the title announces, hope, which turns refugees not into figures but into people with names, talents and stories to tell. Through an unexpected friendship, Kaurismäki shines a spotlight on state hypocrisy, human vulnerability, and sympathy.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

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Audience Member

Refugees travel lightly, but we can unpack this: What is "the other side of hope," anyway? Some say it's despair; others more cynically say it's truth. But what they mean with those answers are "opposite," which is not necessarily the same as "the other side." The latest production from Finland's greatest auteur, Aki Kaurismäki, is being singled as one of his best. The Other Side of Hope affirms that Kaurismäki's trademark blend of odd, sardonic wit, chronic expressionlessness and outsiders buckling against a stacked-deck system is alive and well, decades into his notable career.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

Full Review

richard i

Having loved Le Havre (which I now feel I want to revisit just in case), Kaurismäki impressed me a lot less with what feels like a photocopy of that work - a pallet that evokes the 1960s, ordinary people who instinctively support the downtrodden, an immigrant trying to escape his fate - though the complexity and the tragedy also remains intact beneath the eccentric humour. Feels a bit like what would happen if Wes Anderson directed Schindler's List.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

So Finnish that I like it, especially the Sushi scene.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/25/23

Full Review

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Aki Kaurismäki

Director

Sherwan Haji

Khaled

Sakari Kuosmanen

Wikström

Janne Hyytiäinen

Nyrhinen

Ilkka Koivula

Calamnius

Nuppu Koivu

Mirja

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The Other Side of Hope: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

A poker-playing restaurateur and former traveling salesman befriends a group of refugees that has recently arrived in Finland.

Director: Aki Kaurismäki
Screenwriter: Aki Kaurismäki
Distributor: Janus Films
Production Co: Sputnik Oy, Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: Finnish
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 1, 2017, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): May 17, 2018
Box Office (Gross USA): $97.1K
Runtime: 1h 38m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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