The Other Side of Hope (Toivon tuolla puolen) (2017)
86%RT Audience Score: 76%
Awards & Nominations: 8 wins & 24 nominations
Writer-director Aki Kaurismäki further sharpens his craft with The Other Side of Hope, offering a timely drama whose melancholy air is leavened by its empathy
The Other Side of Hope” is a heartwarming film that proves that kindness can come in small gestures. Aki Kaurismaki’s deadpan humor and minimalist style make for a charmingly quirky movie that will leave you feeling good. Plus, who knew there were blues musicians in Finland? This film has it all – dogs, unexpected friendships, and a message of hope. It’s like Jim Jarmusch, but with a Finnish twist. Don’t miss out on this gem.
Production Company(ies)
Paramount Pictures, The Steve Tisch Company, Wendy Finerman Productions,
Distributor
Janus Films
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
Helsinki, Finland
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
Year of Release
2017
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 38m
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Language(s):Finnish, English, Arabic, Swedish, Japanese
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Country of origin:Finland, Germany
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Dec 1, 2017 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): May 15, 2018
Genre(s)
Comedy/Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Sherwan Haji, Sakari Kuosmanen, Janne Hyytiäinen, Ilkka Koivula, Nuppu Koivu, Simon Al-Bazoon, directed by Aki Kaurismäki, written by Aki Kaurismäki, comedy, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Jordan Hoffman, Paul Byrnes, David Stratton, Cary Darling, Marjorie Baumgarten, Tom Long, Michael J Casey, Dennis Harvey, Gisela Savdie, Dustin Chang, Yasser Medina, David Lamble, The Other Side of Hope, poker-playing restaurateur, former traveling salesman, refugees, Finland, Finnish, Dolby Digital, Flat (1.85:1), Janus Films, empathy, melancholy, kindness, humanistic lessons, Syrian refugee crisis, racism, Finnish society
Worldwide gross: $4,282,973
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $5,166,277
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,168
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 563,389
US/Canada gross: $183,943
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $221,879
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,528
US/Canada opening weekend: $15,495
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $18,691
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,534
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): 1600000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $1,929,978
Production budget ranking: 2,030
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $1,039,293
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $2,197,006
ROI to date (est.): 74%
ROI ranking: 1,044
Sakari Kuosmanen – Wikström
Janne Hyytiäinen – Nyrhinen
Ilkka Koivula – Calamnius
Nuppu Koivu – Mirja
Simon Al-Bazoon – Mazdak
Aki Kaurismäki – Producer, Writer
Aki Kaurismäki – Director
Director(s)
Aki Kaurismäki
Writer(s)
Aki Kaurismäki
Producer(s)
Aki Kaurismäki
Film Festivals
Berlin, Telluride, Toronto
Awards & Nominations
8 wins & 24 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (109) | Top Critics (37) | Fresh (100) | Rotten (9)
The humor in The Other side of Hope doesn’t necessarily emerge from jokes – sometimes it’s just a well-placed shot of a dog – but it shows how human kindness rarely takes the form of grandiose Hallmark-ready overtures.
January 10, 2019 | Rating: 3/4
Jordan Hoffman
amNewYork
TOP CRITIC
Most of the characters face a daily question: to be kind or unkind. Kaurismaki builds a heroic narrative around that idea.
March 28, 2018 | Rating: 4/5
Paul Byrnes
Sydney Morning Herald
TOP CRITIC
Admirers of the director’s work will embrace his famously deadpan style, minimalist sense of humour, static camera and grimy production design…a (relatively) minor Kaurismaki film is still head and shoulders over much of today’s cinema.
March 23, 2018 | Rating: 4/5
David Stratton
The Australian
TOP CRITIC
Finnish films have been generating buzz lately. “Tom of Finland” and “The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Maki” have found a small, if enthusiastic, audience…Aki Kaurismki’s charmingly deadpan “The Other Side of Hope” should follow a similar path.
January 11, 2018 | Rating: 3/5
Cary Darling
Houston Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
The film’s sharp-contrast lighting (another recurring [Aki] Kaurismki touch) renders everything a little unreal and made-up, ironically softening the harsher edges of Kaurismki’s humanistic lessons in kindness.
January 4, 2018 | Rating: 3.5/5
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
Blues musicians in Finland. Who know there was such a thing?
December 15, 2017 | Rating: B-
Tom Long
Detroit News
TOP CRITIC
Lovely and humane film, but it is Kaurismaki’s idiosyncratic framing and structure that make it hilarious at the same time.
April 14, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/5
Michael J. Casey
Michael J. Cinema
This latest by Finland’s leading filmmaker Aki Kaurismaki is his best in years, a potentially precious little fable whose inner warmth is well-cloaked in a healthy dose of his characteristic deadpan humor.
October 19, 2020
Dennis Harvey
48 Hills
Different people in desperate situations get together in unexpected, and sometimes marvelous ways [Full Review in Spanish]
September 19, 2020
Gisela Savdie
El Heraldo
Aki Kaurismaki takes on the Syrian refugee crisis in an affecting, optimistic film.
July 17, 2020
Dustin Chang
ScreenAnarchy
The Finnish director, who reiterated at the Berlin International Film Festival that this will be his last film, has infected us with a critical fable that at no time ceases to be honest. [Full review in Spanish]
June 27, 2020 | Rating: 7/10
Yasser Medina
Cinemaficionados
Can be likened to the bleak but worthy resume of Jim Jarmusch.
June 3, 2020
David Lamble
Bay Area Reporter…
Plot
A poker-playing restaurateur and former traveling salesman befriends a group of refugees that has recently arrived in Finland in Aki Kaurismäki’s The Other Side of Hope.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The film stars Sherwan Haji as Khaled, a refugee who befriends a poker-playing restaurateur.
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