O Outro Lado da Esperança

OMG, os diálogos. E os personagens. Tivemos saudades tuas, Aki. O humor nórdico seco, o maquinismo cómico deliberado, os personagens caricatas, a capacidade de se expressar adequadamente e com o coração mesmo sobre uma questão mais global. A América tem Woody Allen, a Escandinávia tem Kaurismäki. (02/07/2017)

Duas histórias entrelaçadas, tão diferentes uma da outra que nem sequer parece possível conectá-las. Julgue por si mesmo - por um lado, um drama sério sobre um refugiado sírio que tenta obter asilo na Finlândia e procura a sua irmã, que desapareceu algures perto da fronteira húngara, e por outro, uma comédia grotescamente absurda sobre um homem de negócios envelhecido que deixa a sua mulher, vende a sua loja de camisas e compra um restaurante de baixo nível com um pessoal correspondente. Aki Kaurismäki consegue, no entanto, combinar muito naturalmente as duas histórias no último terço do filme numa mistura hilariante e auto-consciente de comédia-drama, que inclui um comentário sobre a crise dos refugiados, bem como piadas secas que rasgam o diafragma. Existem alguns pedaços desnecessários (como os personagens dos três skinheads estereotipados), mas estes são realmente apenas detalhes. (02/07/2017)

Apparently, I am not enough of an intellectual to be able to enjoy this film. There was some occasional humor here and there (with emphasis on the word occasional), a few scenes got me interested, but the rest of it felt dull and dragged on like the week before payday. (16/04/2018)

"I believe the commander will want to see the escape routes as well." "Our customers rarely want to escape once they've got in." "Smart dog. I taught her a little Arabic. She converted to Islam. What she thought it's much more interesting than Buddhism. She's calling to surround Budapest and Belgrade tomorrow." - "How much do I net?" "Not much." "A grand. It buys him a history back to the Invasion of Normandy." "He's not that old." "The price is the same if he's born tomorrow." - "Listen. I love Finland. But if you find a way out of here, I'd be really grateful." +++ I love the clever humor and somewhat dark poetry of Kaurismäki's films. The Other Side of Hope is another great entry in Aki's oeuvre. Essentially, it's again about the stories of people living on the margins of society but presented with such lightness and humor that after watching the film, you simply can't be in a bad mood. (85%) (11/08/2020)

I had no idea that Finns are such immigrant sympathizers. They even let them in, communicate with them and tend to offer them jobs. Seriously? I thought that a Finn is a more private being and does not do anything mentioned above for other Finns, let alone for immigrants… But fine, let’s forget about immigration policies and concentrate more on Aki Kaurismäki. He showed off with an ironic comedy good as usual, with some aspects of drama, which maintains the comedy nature with its absurdity. It is funny from start to finish and not just thanks to the cynical dialogues, but also the nicely done camera work, entertaining even when it just stands still. I regret that I am not in Finland. I would happily visit a similar distillery for one Kukko olut. Well, one Czech beer waiting for me in half an hour will have to do. (27/01/2018)