"The Other Side of Hope" is a film where two lines go hand-in-hand. One is the frustrated clothing merchant Wickstrom, who has a new hope after buying a restaurant after winning a big bet in the casino. The other is that the Syrian refugee Khalid smuggled all the way to Helsinki, Finland, seeking political asylum, and constantly looking for the whereabouts of his sister. Two people with different identities, different classes, and different reasons are all looking for new hope in their lives. This is the first time I see a work directed by Aki Kaurismaki. The first impression is that the music in the film is amazing! It fits the plot and sounds great! Secondly, the characters in the play are restrained in their performances and their expressions are severe, but there is no lack of inner warmth and cold humor, which makes people smile. The film does not describe too much the process of escaping, the suffering of the war, but calmly uses Khalid's oral recollections to show the huge psychological wounds that the war has brought to people that is difficult to heal. and the reasons stated by the authorities when they made the decision to repatriate Khalid, "Considering the current state of security development in the Aleppo area, as well as the relationship between the violence and the number of deaths and the large number of residents in Aleppo, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs believes that in Aleppo The absence of conflict in the area has caused all residents of the city to suffer serious bodily harm as described in Article 88, paragraph 1 of the Aliens Act..." With Khalid's return to the shelter, the tragic casualties in the Aleppo area shown on TV comparison. In Helsinki, Khalid met Iraqi refugees who sympathized with the same sickness and offered a helping hand in the shelter; met the staff who helped him escape from the shelter without saying a word; met the homeless people who saw the injustice and helped him; met the cold-faced enthusiastic Wikstrom and restaurant staff; met a lorry driver who offered to help her sister smuggled from Lithuania. Of course, there are also street gangsters who hate refugees. In northern Europe, a city where almost everyone is indifferent, even if there is rejection and incomprehension, warmth and hope are surging everywhere. The director did not show the best future. After Khalid was stabbed by a street gangster, he left the restaurant with a stray puppy. Although the future is unclear, there is still hope in Khalid's heart!
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