A modern fairy tale from renowned Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki about a Syrian migrant who tries to find refuge in Helsinki.
After losing their entire family during the war in Syria, Khaled and his sister are now trying to get into Europe illegally. Their paths tragically diverge when crossing the border. Khaled ends up in Finland, where he tries to get asylum. Fate brings him together with the Finn Wikström, who owns The Golden Pint café in Helsinki. A community of caring people soon forms around the café, who want to help Khaled settle in Europe and reunite with his sister.
Despite references to real-life events, primarily the war in Syria, Kaurismäki's world is timeless: the police use typewriters, music from the past plays in the café, and the film’s visual style combines elements of different eras ranging from the 1960s to the 2000s.
In the fairy-tale, though deeply melancholic, world of Kaurismäki, ethics takes on an almost utopian character: kindness, sympathy, and solidarity overcome hopeless reality, while noble and seemingly obsolete life principles, reminiscent of the films of Jean Vigo and Charlie Chaplin, do not contradict the tragedy of today.
The film will be screened in English, Finnish, Arabic, Swedish, and Japanese with Russian subtitles.
The Other Side of Hope
Dir. Aki Kaurismäki
Finland, Germany, 2017. 100 min. 16+