The Other Side of Hope

A cargo ship docks on a cold Finnish shore carrying a stowaway, a Syrian refugee named Khaled. He’s made it to Europe, but an asylum hearing still awaits and the outcome is uncertain. While hope is the last thing to die, he has to accept the possibility of having to live on the streets of Helsinki. At the same time, in another place, morose Wikström is dealing with a family catastrophe. One day he suddenly walks away from his door-to-door shirt-selling business, puts on a stony expression, and heads to the casino with a lifetime of savings. Will he parlay the cash into the restaurant he’s always dreamed of opening? Fans of the distinctive Finnish director will find the hallmarks of his work put to effective use in a story that brings together two disparate lives: laconic humor, subtly humorous gags, and his inimitable set design. And this time as well, Kaurismäki’s ci­nematic world, in which the situation usually has an unexpected outcome, is governed by an odd set of rules.