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New International Trailer for Aki Kaurismäki's 'The Other Side of Hope'

by Alex Billington
August 1, 2017
Source: YouTube

"I want to stay here. This is a country with no war." The Match Factory has debuted a new international trailer for Aki Kaurismäki's latest film, The Other Side of Hope, which first premiered at the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year. Set in Helsinki, Finland, this film tells the story of two struggling men whose lives intersect in the middle of the city. One story follows a young refugee from Syria who sneaks into Helsinki, the other follows a traveling salesman who buys a small unprofitable restaurant. The cast features Sherwan Haji, Sakari Kuosmanen, Janne Hyytiäinen, Ilkka Koivula, Nuppu Koivu, Simon Hussein Al-Bazoon, and Niroz Haji. If you're familiar with Kaurismäki's films already, then you should know what to expect. This one is a bit more dry and depressing than some of his other films, but it's still worth your time.

Here's the new international trailer (+ poster) for Aki Kaurismäki's The Other Side of Hope, on YouTube:

The film consists of two stories that by chance intersect. The first one is about Khaled, a young Syrian refugee who has lost virtually all of his family. Almost by accident, he drifts to Helsinki as a stowaway passenger on a collier ship to seek asylum without great hopes for his future life. Wikström, the other protagonist, is a travelling salesman of about fifty. In the beginning of the film he leaves his alcoholic wife and his profession and turns momentarily into a poker shark. With the small amount of money he thus gains he then buys an unprofitable restaurant at the far end of an inner court along a back street in Helsinki. The Other Side of Hope is written and directed by acclaimed Finnish filmmaker Aki Kaurismäki, of many films including Crime and Punishment, Shadows in Paradise, Leningrad Cowboys Go America, The Match Factory Girl, La Vie de Bohème, Drifting Clouds, Juha, The Man Without a Past, Lights in the Dusk, and Le Havre previously. This first premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, and also played at the Sydney, Moscow, Karlovy Vary, and Jerusalem Film Festivals. The film has already opened in Europe, but still doesn't have any US release date set yet. We'll have to watch for more updates. Who wants to see this?

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