We are always willing to discuss the importance of acting, plot, and photography to a movie.
There is a director who tells us in a maverick style——
The mere form of the film itself has infinite charm.
His name is-Aki Kaurismaki.
He is always able to make art films that people can quietly appreciate, interpreting social problems with a minimalist personal style.
He also naturally deserves to be the best director of the Berlin International Film Festival.
Such a great man, his new work——
"The Other Side of Hope"
100 minutes, in the eyes of mainstream commercial films, is not a feature film, but for director Aki, it is the first time ever.
Because this stubborn Finnish director said:
"Afraid of smoking addiction, (I) can only shoot movies within 70 minutes."
In his famous works, the length of the film is very short.
"Living into the Sky" 69 minutes, "The Match Factory Women" actually only 59 minutes, "Twilight" was only 59 minutes for the first time, and then extended to 80 minutes for participating in the film festival.
"The Other Side of Hope" tells the story of Syrian refugee Khalid (played by Shivan Haji) who fled to Helsinki, Finland, and suffered cold reception, hostility and help.
Choosing to release this movie in 2017 is not without reason.
The influx of refugees into Europe is precisely because of the Syrian civil war.
The floating corpse beach during the smuggling of a three-year-old Syrian child was a sensation before...
"The Other Side of Hope" is set in Finland, and the protagonist happens to be a refugee from Syria.
Aki is well-known for his calm and restrained photographic techniques, which are extremely chin-dropping colors.
The story of an asylum Syrian refugee who accidentally boarded the wrong boat and came to Finland, and soon climbed out of the coal pile.
Disembarking and looking around, the light reflected on the side of the ship, the shadow of the lights in the distance, the high-gloss wooden ship ladder, a tragic figure, and the surroundings are all pleasant warm colors.
When this "refugee" went to the bathhouse to take a good bath, took off his ragged coat, and changed into a shirt—
The red light and exquisite face are like another Yamada Takayuki.
Even the colors of street bands can be called colorful
Just like Aki's self-described color style
Using color ideally, I am more like a poet at this time than a social or political commentator.
The contrast between light and shadow colors and warm and cold tones achieves the change of light and shade, which makes the picture more concise, but full of tension.
For example, Khalid saw the picture of his missing sister at the end—a green jacket, yellow lining, and floral skirt, which was very visually impactful.
This kind of use of color is really not comparable to the lines and acting skills.
The same style of "Women Workers in the Match Factory", its color is always enveloped in a cold gray-blue hue.
The film's dialogue is economical and concise, coupled with the director's preference for cigarettes, the role of the film's screen even exceeds the large lines.
Take the second protagonist in the film, the capitalist Wikstrom gambling in a casino as an example.
First, there is a panoramic view of the concise casino, the rising smoke, the dressing of suits and leather shoes, and the serious expression of everyone, the atmosphere is so depressing.
In the first scene, 1V5, the director only used a few lines and an expression, and the result was clear.
In the second game, the first person lost and left the game.
Then everything in the picture, a cold, late night casino panorama stood for two seconds.
Back at the casino, someone was asleep, and only two people were left on the gaming table.
In the third game, there is still a duel between the giants. There are more lines here, but it is still very refined.
Although the two sides have nothing to say, the atmosphere of tension is exaggerated to the extreme, and the two people's continuous sip of cigarettes is the best antidote in this atmosphere.
In the end, Wikstrom became the winner, and the other side said--
Don't come again.
Murderous aura appeared between the eyebrows. And Wickstrom just faintly replied--
In a scene, just a few lines, the atmosphere of the whole environment and the psychological game of the characters seem to be magnified several times in an instant.
Smoke is lingering, and the show comes from smoke.
The male protagonist Khalid was imprisoned in the Immigration Bureau for the first time. When he met his Iraqi friends, the two met with cigarettes.
When I returned to my temporary residence, I met the black brother and other people who were also refugees, and they all smoked.
Tobacco is the only way for Khalid to make friends in the unfamiliar Helsinki.
Smoke is the spiritual food for these refugees.
Not only did Wickstrom take in Khalid, but after he found his sister, he and the driver did not thank each other and thank each other, but lit a cigarette and savored it slowly.
In addition, the use and preference of Aki music has the effect of invigorating the deaf.
Khalid was talked to by the Immigration Bureau and bought drunk alone at night, and there happened to be a stray singer outside the window.
I will hold you tight
We will have fun all night
By the dawn you will find
I have disappeared
The passion of the wandering singer contrasted sharply with Khalid's expression in the window.
The refugees who wandered here, and the street singers, have no fixed occupation, no fixed residence, or even relatives.
One used both hands, feet, and mouth for his livelihood, just in exchange for a few copper plates, and the other didn't even know if he could stay here the next day.
The lyrics of the hurt parting, the state of the world is completely cold.
When Khalid was expelled, the night before he left, he played his musical instrument--
The eyes of the people around me are dull--
Some thoughtful--
Some expressions are dumb--
This is a group portrait of sentient beings living in a foreign country, an elegy to the experience of refugees from a foreign country.
I don't know why many of Aki's films are classified as "comedies." There are indeed cold humours in the movies, without humorous lines and actions, and no exaggerated expressions.
Light as water, but strong in taste.
The movie went on for more than an hour before the two main story lines of Khalid and Wickstrom met, which was slightly embarrassing-Khalid occupied the place where the boss Wickstrom took out the trash.
So the two fought, and the introverted Khalid was also full of hostility because of Finland's indifference and hostility.
As a result, the next second, the two sat at the same dinner table again, and Khalid gobbled up the boss's food.
This kind of contrast is cute. Although no actor speaks or laughs, the comedy effect is excellent.
When the police came to the restaurant to check, Khalid and the dog were forced to hide in the women’s bathroom. When the check was over and the chef opened the door of the women’s bathroom, Khalid said something dumbfoundingly with a smile...
Jokes are more laughable when they come from the mouths of serious or sad people.
This is why the core of comedy is tragedy.
In the name of the other side of hope, the film explores the lives of refugees and their experiences in a foreign country.
The warm colors that are permeated in the film, the beautification of Finnish capitalists' goodwill and the friendly sculpting of the people at the bottom seem to tell us——
Hope is always there.
When Khalid asked why his Iraqi friends are always so happy, he did not shy away——
Should I pretend to be happy too?
They did not lose hope. This hope is the job from Iraqi friends, and it is Wikstrom's wedding ring.
It’s the belief that Sister Khalid doesn’t want to die easily, just like Khalid’s belief that she is still alive.
At the end of the film, Khalid was stabbed by a racist and sat opposite the police station watching his sister turn himself in.
Under the bleeding wound, there was a calm and even smiling face, and a dog rushed to lick him.
Yes, life won’t talk to you, give you reason, tell you what to do,
It will only stabb you a few times and tell you when you bleed: Silly X, have you learned it?
Perhaps the other side of hope is not despair,
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