Toivon Tuolla Puolen (2017)

TOIVON TUOLLA PUOLEN (2017) 

Say that out loud. It sounds intriguing right?

Perhaps I’m biased due to my long held affinity for Aki Kaurismäki but The Other Side Of Hope is my favorite movie of 2017 thus far.
Previous films of Kaurismäki I like include #DriftingClouds , #ShadowsInParadise , #TheMatchFactoryGirl and #TheManWithoutAPast .




Like some other director everyone is intently focused on the work of this year, #Kaurismaki gathers his #epochal #ensemble, withered by time but glorious in appearance, craftsmanship and ability to make a stand without histrionic facade but rather with a Finnish craftsmanship, immediacy, efficiently and for lack of a better term, #cutanddry melancholy. The #bigStatements are blatant in Kaurismäki’s work but with that comes sympathy, wonder and engagement not
or #IsItaJustConfusion? Why freak us out with anything but the truth? Well, that’s the #Nordic way.



One of the stand out parts of this movie is when a crowded cafe of primarily Finnish and Nordic people dining path this restaurant and above the crowd, glimmering is the aura-soaked figure of Jimi Hendrix, a saviour of rock and roll, forever idolized on the wall “in the far distance” of a random Helsinki restaurant. Hendrix often claimed to be an extra-terrestrial being through his music and he came and went like a profound ethereal being. As much as it galvanizes my music appreciation the glorious Hendrix portrait in this Finnish “fusion” restaurant also exists to remind the audience of dissonance and the alien narrative running throughout the film. Following the reveal of Hendrix at the cafe, the main character, Khaled, claims he has no association with any prophet, religion or affiliation of belief. Hendrix’s music many have disappeared from the common sound-waves but he will always remain a prophet as the Finnish people in this movie claim, who needs religion when you’ve got Hendrix?

It’s incredibly rare for a director to work with the same cast for 34 years without any major lapse in time  as together every other year or so from 1983-2017 he has honored, shown and honed the great abilities of such actors as #KatiOutien,  #IlkkaKoivula, #MariaJärvenhelmi and #SakariKuosmanen as well as a few others not featured in this film.
In The Other Side Of Hope, four of the actors, including have featured in at least five of his earlier films including Kati Outinen who appeared in her 8th.
If you dig his movies as I do, you will be enchanted by the reprise of his troupe in familiar scenarios to their pivotal roles, as glorious as ever, now aged and withered yet perhaps in the prime of their eccentric coldness and retirement age desires.
However, none of this is what the movie is about, the above was a bit of a #pointcounterpoint rant.
We get it - Kaurismaki’s venerable crew are put in similar situations set in contemporary Finland but he introduces someone new who just found his way there after a long embittered journey through Europe…


Ultimately, it’s a film about Sherwan Haji’s character, Khaled, played so brilliantly in his debut role, he proves himself a phenom with infinite potential and I will look forward to seeing him in future roles. As long as he doesn't go the way of Ryan Gosling.
Haji's Khaled is a war refugee who in searching for the only surviving member of his family is forced to shuffle around Europe, always in fear of being repatriated as well as suffering constant adversity, treated with extreme disrespectful, and being subjected to violence and  imprisonment. Khaled considers himself so alienated that he feels he brings no joy to anyone. His friend Mazdak who speaks Finnish and has adapted more to the culture, is played calm and collected by Simon Al-Bazoon in what is surely deserving of a best supporting actor or some equivalent recognition. During another great performance among many in this movie, Mazdak warns Khaled that those who are melancholic will be the first to be sent back.

Kaurismaki sets a scene where no one knows what to do with Khaled but they don't want him there either. Within the last two years of his life, he escaped war-torn Syria and with the loss of his family, his experiences turn him into a man of no religion. He now has a single mission: rescue his sister and find her a decent life in Europe.

This stoically orchestrated vignette #shattermirrors its influences while not duplicating nor borrowing. Kaurismäki has always maintained his own atmosphere as much as the rest of the directors standing the test of time and those who have made over 30 movies. Another director in the 30+ club and often used the same cast was #RainerWernerFassbinder who sadly died at 37. I love to imagine were he still alive he would be making movies with his classic troupe as Kaurismäki is now.

I look forward to seeing something I like more than The Other Side Of Hope before 2018 becomes our every-day reality.