The Other Side Of Hope
A Syrian refugee who inadvertently finds himself in Finland after stowing away inside a pile of coal on a cargo ship; an older Finnish businessman who leaves his wife, wins a fortune in a game of poker and buys a failing restaurant in a dodgy part of town.
What do these two have in common?
They are the lead characters in this dark, dry comic drama from director Andrey Zvyagintsev.
The stories begin separately then crash together when Khaled (Sherwan Haji), on the run after being denied asylum, is discovered sleeping behind Waldemar’s (Sakari Kuosmanen) restaurant. There are some wonderfully quirky characters and a script that weaves through a landscape of political commentary, emotional drama, subtle sentimentality and offbeat humour. The slightly wooden performances, especially from the Finnish characters, only adds to the comic value, and the folk rock soundtrack which toggles between underscore and on screen performance, is the perfect mood setter.
(Finnish/Arabic with English subtitles)
★★★★
Reviewed by Rita Bratovich.
