Winner of the Silver Bear at the recent Berlinale, The Other Side of Hope at TIFF shares the story of a Syrian refugee and Finnish traveling salesmen who cross paths in Helsinki.
Directed by Finland’s Aki Kaurismäki, The Other Side of Hope is a timely film that sheds light on how many refugees have struggled in Europe while trying to escape the ravages of the Syrian war.
While the film deals with plenty of serious subject matter, it’s Kaurismäki’s perfectly timed injection of deadpan and absurdist humour that offers levity in laughs. The films Syrian lead regularly finds himself feeling like a duck out of water, oblivious to the dry sense of humour used by his new neighbours. His only friend, an asylum seeker from Iraq, offers sage advice, “don’t smile in the street. They’ll think you’re crazy.”
A suicidal Finnish salesmen is the source of the majority of laughs, as the film begins with a silent scene where he places his keys and wedding ring on a table while his wife, expressionless, stabs her cigarette in a ash try. After emotionlessly leaving his wife he impulsively purchases a restaurant where a team of talentless staff serve up lackluster daily specials featuring a can of sardines, two boiled eggs and a pickle.
On one fateful day the two gents connect on the street. The down on his luck Syrian is offered his first job in Helsinki and finds inspiration in the kitchen as his coworkers hilariously transform the lackluster pub into a sushi restaurant. One can’t help but burst out laughing when a bus filled with Japanese tourists stops by unannounced. The clueless kitchen crew drop balls of wasabi the size of generous ice cream scoops over tiny slices of sashimi.
