Overview
A poignant yet humorous tale of unexpected friendship amidst the chaos of life.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- deadpan
- witty
- melancholic
- thoughtful evening
- world cinema night
What critics said
Critics broadly celebrated the film as a humane, artful, and gravely funny affirmation of decency amid the European refugee crisis.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Khaled's bureaucratic ordeal and Wikström's restaurant life are presented through offhand gags and emotionally restrained performances.
Wikström gives Khaled work and shelter after officials reject his asylum application, while the restaurant staff form a protective community.
Khaled's refugee journey and Wikström's decision to purchase a restaurant develop independently before meeting in the restaurant yard.
The Helsinki restaurant and surrounding locations are rendered in Kaurismäki's highly composed, stylized visual manner.
Films like The Other Side of Hope, and why
Le Havre
humanist refugee story combining deadpan comedy, social conscience, and understated European realism
The Man Without a Past
dryly comic humanism, minimalist staging, and compassionate attention to marginalized outsiders
Aki Kaurismäki's Leningrad Cowboys Go America
deadpan absurdist humor, working-class solidarity, and stylized social observation
The Visitor
wry comedy and humane ensemble storytelling centered on displaced people and institutional indifference
Movie Details
- Director
- Aki Kaurismäki
- Release Date
- 2017-02-03
- Runtime
- 101 min
- Rating
- 6.9 / 10 (369)
Cast
- Sherwan Haji
- Sakari Kuosmanen
- Kaija Pakarinen
- Niroz Haji
- Janne Hyytiäinen
- Ilkka Koivula
- Nuppu Koivu
- Simon Al-Bazoon
- Tuomari Nurmio
- Abdi Jama
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Google Play Movies, YouTube
- Buy
- Google Play Movies, YouTube
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Other Side of Hope about?
- A deadpan Finnish comic fable finds warmth and solidarity when a rejected Syrian refugee is welcomed into a Helsinki restaurateur's unlikely community.
- What is The Other Side of Hope like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Other Side of Hope as measured, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Other Side of Hope violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in The Other Side of Hope as mild.
- What did critics think of The Other Side of Hope?
- Critics broadly celebrated the film as a humane, artful, and gravely funny affirmation of decency amid the European refugee crisis.
- Which films are like The Other Side of Hope?
- Films with a similar feel include Le Havre, The Man Without a Past, Aki Kaurismäki's Leningrad Cowboys Go America, and The Visitor.
- How long is The Other Side of Hope?
- The Other Side of Hope runs 101 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Other Side of Hope?
- In United States, The Other Side of Hope is available to rent or buy from Google Play Movies, YouTube.
