Reflections on the Finnish film The Other Side of Hope

? "The Other Side of Hope" is another film with a very personal style directed by aki kaurismaki. Movie master, Finland, with the theme of refugees, tells the story of Syrian refugees getting to know local people after sneaking into Finland with two story lines. The film continues the comedy style of black humor, leads the audience into the inner world of refugees and Finnish aborigines with minimalist aesthetic film language, and expresses the director's sympathy for individuals and his profound reflection and sorrow for Finnish laws and local governments. In the cold alienated image, humanistic care is no longer just an empty slogan, but a generous helping hand from neighbors, which is an emotional force enough to cross national boundaries and nations.

Bottom refugees: survival dilemma and humanistic care

Race and immigration have always been a concern of European film directors, and many films have built narratives around this issue. What Chris Markey presents in this film is also a very serious social problem and the social contradictions behind it.

At the beginning of the film, Syrian refugee Khalid climbs out of the coal pile. His eyes were empty and dull, and he crossed the silent harbor in the dark. No one knows or cares about his existence. Before the Syrian war, he had a decent job. When the war spread to Khalid's hometown, he and his sister had to go into exile. In the days of exile, the two spent every day in fear. He fled to the Hungarian border and was found by border guards. After a riot, he and his sister got lost. Khalid traveled all over Europe looking for his sister, but he couldn't find her. Later, he happened to get on a coal ship bound for Finland and came to Finland. Khalid was busy seeking asylum in Finland, and he settled down as a refugee before looking for his sister. Some Finnish locals are very unfriendly to refugees. After completing the immigration review, Khalid was provoked by Finns while waiting for the bus alone. The three men were full of malice towards Khalid, taunting him and preparing to hit him. Even when Khalid got on the bus, they threw the bottle at Khalid. And Khalid looked around, everyone was looking at him with cold eyes, and no one wanted to help himself. In the international news broadcast by refugee shelters, a large-scale attack occurred in Syria, and the local children's hospital was instantly razed to the ground. But even with such news, the Finnish government rejected Khalid's asylum application on the grounds that there was no military attack. This fact is extremely cruel, which is a metaphor for the hypocrisy that Finland falsely welcomes refugees but cannot give them protection. It was in this tense day that Khalid's mentality slowly changed. After being endlessly humiliated by the local people and ruthlessly rejected by the government, Khalid became no longer polite and paid no attention to his appearance. Maybe he feels that no matter how hard he tries, he can't escape from the predicament of survival. He appeared beside the trash can in disorder. When Vickstrom asked him to leave, he asked if he wanted to fight. Khalid's rage is completely aroused by this world, but he can only continue to live humbly in this absurd world.

For Khalid, the death of his family, endless escape and anxiety about survival are all misfortunes brought by life, but when he got to know Iraqi refugees and the helpful Vikstrom, they let him see the hope of life. The other side of hope is not despair, but hope faintly revealed in the darkness. Facing the wandering Khalid, Vickstrom first filled his stomach, and then offered him a job in a restaurant and a warehouse. After checking the restaurant, my uncle found someone to help him make a false certificate. Even the reunion of Khalid and his sister was that my uncle used his contacts to smuggle his sister safely to Finland. When Khalid was sentenced to repatriation, the staff of the shelter held the police hostage to help Khalid escape; Walking on the streets of Finland, Khalid was bullied by xenophobic neo-Nazi organizations, and a group of tramps stood up and drove them away; Other partners in the restaurant are also very kind to him and help him silently. Khalid gradually integrated into Finland and told his Iraqi friends that he had begun to like Finland. Under the background of economic depression, although the country is hypocritical and heartless, the individual is the bright spot in the dark society, giving people hope and warmth. Some Finns' malice towards refugees contrasts with their personal warmth, which shows the duality of good and evil in Koris Markey's films.

At the end of the film, Khalid still can't escape the neo-Nazi attack, and his sister, like Khalid before, tries to seek refugee asylum in the police station. Halid, who was stabbed, was lying under a tree. The front line was not completely open, but he did see hope calling. What is the final outcome? The director didn't give us the answer. As my sister said, everyone just wants to live in this world. Behind all kinds of settings, the director's confidence in the kind people and his high condemnation of the government's humanitarian indifference are reflected. However, there is still a long way to go to truly embrace everyone with goodwill.

Minimalist Aesthetics: Narrative of Unique Music Construction

Unique music is another feature of Aki Cauris Markey's films. Music is their inner monologue to the dull and silent characters in the film. Music has not only become an ideographic means in Chris Markey's films, but also carries concrete ideographic content, which has become an inseparable and extremely unique part of his film aesthetics.

Music can be used to interpret the character's heart, so that the camera can get enough emotional intensity, and the audience can better understand the hero's emotions. At the beginning of the film, a Syrian refugee and a Finnish native meet on the zebra crossing, and both of them lose the protection of their families on the same night. At this time, accompanied by the music "I want to sleep in this cold and dead underground", it implies that the two of them walked into endless loneliness and darkness together. On the night he learned that he had been sentenced to repatriation, Khalid picked up a solo instrument and scanned the faces of every refugee in the shelter. They are disappointed and sad, and everyone is waiting for the final result. They may be sheltered or repatriated. These refugees come from different war-torn countries, but at the moment everyone's mood is the same. As a realistic film, this sense of substitution is stronger, and both the audience and the actors are in opposite musical emotions.

The intuitive narration of music not only helps to set off the atmosphere of the film, but also is used skillfully in its films. Most of the music in the film can be traced back, and the sound source is in the picture, such as the live singing of a band or record player, which has enough time continuity in performance. Therefore, emphasizing that music belongs to the interior rather than the exterior of the plot strengthens the narrative significance of music in the film. When Khalid and his Iraqi friends looked out into the distance at the bar, two Finnish old people held guitars and played the local folk song "Men silently prayed in their hearts, hoping that the crops would be safe". As men, their simplest wish is to have a warm home with a fireplace in this land, where people can get food and feed their families through work. But such a simple wish is out of reach for refugees. It's hard for them to stand up. Even if they find jobs, they don't have enough money to take over their families who are still in the war. In addition, after Vickstrom knocked down the restaurant with poor business, on the opening day, the jukebox played the music of "creatures without wings are doomed to stay in the gray and cold land", and the camera made a close-up of the waiters and chefs, showing the helplessness of the restaurant staff in the business depression and the worry that wages could not be paid on time, which also laid the groundwork for Vickstrom to change the restaurant's business strategy several times later.

Music has a special function-irony, besides setting off the hero's mood and rendering the atmosphere. When Khalid finished the immigration interrogation and drank alone in the bar, the camera put him next to the old man playing the harmonica at the door. Although the story at this time is sad and sad, Khalid doesn't know where to go, but the music is very funny, such as the lyrics "We played all night and the dawn has disappeared." The director didn't set up dialogue here, but because of the lack of dialogue, the music effect was stronger. This change has created comedy factors in Khalid's tragic fate, and to some extent dispelled the heavy feeling of the plot, and the audience involuntarily poured more sympathy and lament.

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The other side of hope is unknown sadness and insignificance. Both protagonists are suffering from the destruction of the system or fate, but they are unwilling to give up, but they are fighting against fate and moving towards the tomorrow of generation. Using the film elements of minimalism, the director Koris Markey wraps the seemingly heartless reality in a utopia full of hope, indirectly metaphors the social problems behind the seemingly calm Finnish society, and shows the director's sympathy and pity for the life of the refugees at the bottom. Chris Markey constantly explores the theme of human beings in his films, hoping for the return of justice and kindness, and giving humanistic care and reflection on the value of human nature, which has profound ideological connotation and research value.