The Other Side of Hope
Performance & Direction: The Other Side of Hope Review
Last updated: February 4, 2026
Quick Verdict: Hit or Flop?
Is The Other Side of Hope (2017) worth watching? According to our cinematic analysis, the film stands as a HIT with a verified audience rating of 6.9/10. Whether you're looking for the box office collection, ending explained, or parents guide, our review covers everything you need to know about this Comedy.
Cast Performances: A Masterclass
The success of any Comedy is often anchored by its ensemble, and The Other Side of Hope features a noteworthy lineup led by Sherwan Haji . Supported by the likes of Sakari Kuosmanen and Kaija Pakarinen , the performances bring a palpable realism to the scripted words.
Performance Analysis: While the cast delivers competent and professional performances, they are occasionally hampered by a script that leans into familiar archetypes.
Final Verdict: Is it Worth Watching?
Story & Plot Summary: The Other Side of Hope
Quick Plot Summary: The Other Side of Hope is a Comedy, Drama film that brings laughter through sharp writing and comedic timing, providing amusement while touching on deeper societal themes. This summary provides a scannable look at the movie's central conflict and narrative structure.
Ending Explained: The Other Side of Hope
Ending Breakdown: The Other Side of Hope concludes its story with a mix of closure and open interpretation. The finale presents its approach to comedy resolution.
The emotional climax centers on character transformation, offering viewers material for post-viewing discussion.
Ending Analysis:
- Narrative Resolution: The story concludes by addressing its primary narrative threads, providing closure while maintaining some ambiguity.
- Character Arcs: Character journeys reach their narrative endpoints, reflecting the film's thematic priorities.
- Thematic Payoff: The ending reinforces the comedy themes established throughout the runtime.
The final moments of The Other Side of Hope reflect the filmmakers' creative choices, offering an ending that aligns with the film's tone and style.
Who Should Watch The Other Side of Hope?
Worth Watching If You:
- Enjoy Comedy films and don't mind familiar tropes
- Are a fan of the cast or director
- Want some laughs and light entertainment
Box Office Collection: The Other Side of Hope
| Metric / Region | Collection (Approx) |
|---|---|
| Worldwide Gross | $1.7M |
| Trade Verdict | CLEAN HIT |
Top Cast: The Other Side of Hope
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Where to Watch The Other Side of Hope Online?
Streaming Hub📺 Stream on
Criterion Channel🎟️ Rent on
Amazon Video
Google Play Movies
YouTube🏷️ Buy on
Amazon Video
Google Play Movies
YouTubeThe Other Side of Hope Parents Guide & Age Rating
2017 AdvisoryWondering about The Other Side of Hope age rating or if it's safe for kids? Here is our cinematic advisory:
⏱️ Runtime & Duration
The total runtime of The Other Side of Hope is 101 minutes (1h 41m). Ensuring you have enough time for the full cinematic experience.
Verdict Summary
Analyzing the overall audience sentiment, verified rating of 6.9/10, and global performance metrics, The Other Side of Hope is classified as a HIT. It remains an essential part of the 2017 cinematic calendar.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is The Other Side of Hope worth watching?
The Other Side of Hope is definitely worth watching if you enjoy Comedy movies. It has a verified rating of 6.9/10 and stands as a HIT in our box office analysis.
Where can I find The Other Side of Hope parents guide and age rating?
The official parents guide for The Other Side of Hope identifies it as Not Rated. Our detailed advisory section above covers all content warnings for families.
What is the total runtime of The Other Side of Hope?
The total duration of The Other Side of Hope is 101 minutes, which is approximately 1h 41m long.
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How The Other Side of Hope Compares & Where it Ranks
Critic Reviews for The Other Side of Hope
In Aki Kaurismäki's 2016 film Toivon tuolla puelella ("The Other Side of Hope"), the Finnish auteur continues a theme he explored in Le Havre from five years earlier: refugees fleeing to Europe and forced to survive when heartless officials and some locals are against them. While that earlier film was shot in the comparatively exotic setting of the eponymous French port, Toivon tuolla puelella returns to Kaurismäki's familiar stomping grounds of downtown Helsinki. The film consists of two converging plotlines. In one, the aging salesman Wikström (Sakari Kuosmanen, a longtime member of Kaurismäki's acting stable) leaves his wife, wins a lot of money in a poker game, and decides to open a restaurant. In the other, the Syrian refugee Khaled (Sherwan Haji) arrives in Helsinki after fleeing war-torn Aleppo and wandering across half of Europe, but he is worried about his sister that he got separated with along the way. Wikström and Khaled eventually meet and become friends -- or the closest thing to friends that Kaurismäki's exaggeratedly cold and morose Finns can get to each other. Before that, however, the Wikström plotline serves to inject some humour, albeit of an extremely deadpan sort, into a film that, though Khaled, explores the depressing lives of refugees who are shuffled from one center to another and forced to wait for their cases to be processed. For three decades now, Kaurismäki has made all his films to a very distinctive template that virtually never varies. Its characters speak a minimum of dialogue to each other and show little expression on their faces. The sets are drab in colour and deliberately anachronistic, with gadgets, vehicles or clothes from the 1950s alongside computers and mobile phones from our time. At some point, a band will appear on stage playing oldies rock, blues, or Finnish tangos as the characters look on. Toivon tuolla puelella doesn't stray from that template either. Still, the script has enough fresh moments to it that it will feel worthwhile evento longtime Kaurismäki films who have sat through this template many times before. Some of the humorous bits are laugh-out-loud funny, but overall this does feel like a darker film than most of the director's work. It is ultimately a choked, restrained cry of rage at the way that refugees are treated, by a Nordic society that prides itself on fairness, equality and charity. While Kaurismäki is roughly on the left politically, several of his films have attacked the Finnish welfare state for its opaque bureaucracy and its reduction of human beings to mere papers in a government file. This film continues that critique by depicting the refugees, who come from many countries but manage to band together to lend each other help, as the sort of neighborly solidarity that Kaurismäki prefers to faceless bureaucracy. I personally wouldn't find this the best introduction to Kaurismäki. His earlier film Mies vailla menneisyttä ("The Man Without a Past") depicted with more meat on its bone a down-on-his-luck man lost among bureaucracy, while the über-idiosyncratic romantic comedy Varoja paratiisissa ("Shadows in Paradise") is one of Kaurismäki's best achievements in deadpan humour. Still, Toivon tuolla puelella seems to tell a story universal enough to pull on everyone's heartstrings and is worth seeing.
Europe "welcomes" war refugees. Gallery of portraits in Tati-style sets, and a call to order, always in progress. Uplifting.
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This review has been verified for accuracy and editorial quality by our senior cinematic analysts.
This analysis is compiled by our editorial experts using multi-source verification and audience sentiment data for maximum accuracy.









