One-time minimalist, now breaking out into something more substantial, Aki Kaurismaki here tackles the refugee crisis, explicitly and beautifully, proving there's always been more to him than sometimes met the eye. "The Other Side of Hope" is set in Helsinki where Syrian refugee Khaled ends up after stowing away on a coal ship and it's here he meets former salesman, gambler and restauranteur Wilkstrom who is also embarking on a new life, albeit a less drastic one. In typical Kaurismaki style, he establishes what is happening to these two men in the first several minutes without a word being spoken.
Like "Le Havre" before it, this is Kaurismaki at his most humane; you get the impression De Sica or perhaps Ken Loach might have made this and while the acting throughout is typically deadpan both Sherwan Haji, (Khaled), and Sakari Kuesmanen, (Wilkstrom), fully inhabit their characters. In Kaurismaki's films the actors never quite feel like actors and there are moments here of documentary-like realism. Of course, we wouldn't be watching a Kaurismaki film if it wasn't fanciful on occasion and this is where Kaurismaki scores over his contemporaries; he embraces magical-realism better than anybody. This funny, sad and deeply moving film might just turn out to be his masterpiece.
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