The Other Side of Hope - Toivon tuolla puolen

The Other Side of Hope is another gem from Finnish writer/director Aki Kaurismäki. It picks up some of the themes concerning refugees of his 2011 French language film Le Havre.

Set in another port city, Finland’s capital Helsinki, it tells of the developing friendship between a Syrian asylum seeker, Khaled (Sherwan Haji) and a former shirt salesperson turned restaurateur, Waldemar Wikström (Sakari Kuosmanen).

It has Kaurismäki’s signature mix of offbeat humour and serious social issues. He makes the audience uncomfortable as we laugh at a topic which should not be a joke.

The restaurant, and its staff in particular, seems to be have time-travelled from the 1950s. The Golden Pint’s no frills décor and menu match the expectations of its working-class customers. Waldemar’s stumbling attempts to embrace 21st century hospitality bring some comic relief from the grim obstacles facing the refugees.

Nevertheless they have a common thread in their battles with authority. Even the lacklustre restaurant staff shine in comparison with Finnish bureaucracy. However, immigration security is not the only foe, as neo-nazis are lurking with intent.

Khaled’s stay at the open-door but depressing detention centre has its upside. During his journey from his home in Aleppo, he has become separated from his sister. His Iraqi friend helps with his attempts to find her.

One of the bright sides of this movie is the music, led by singer/songwriter Tuomari Nurmio. He appears in musical vignettes as a busker and lead singer for a band. There are several videos of the soundtrack online, including this glorious performance:



The cast includes several other veterans of Finnish entertainment, who help to energise the oddball collection of local characters. If their world seems quite daft, it triumphs over the unhinged reality that the refugees have fled and what they now face in exile.

Anyway, you’d have to cry if you didn’t laugh. Perhaps, that’s the other side of hope.

Eden is West's pedestrian offering

Eden is West (Eden à l'Ouest) is a pedestrian offering from director Costa-Gavras and not just because the protagonist is heading across Europe on foot. The film is a far cry from his early greats such as Z. and Missing.

Illegal immigrant Elias is searching for his Eden after washing up at an Aegean resort. He sets off to Paris on a so-called Odyssey. For the most part his temptresses and monsters are a fairly lack lustre bunch. The villains of modern capitalism and consumersim are stereotypes and most of the lessons of this fable lack any subtly. Apart from the occasional rip-off merchant and refugee exploiter, our gallant hero mostly encounters generosity and kindness.

Perhaps the most poignant moments come from the juxtaposition of rich German tourist Christina (Juliane Köhler) and poor Greek peasant Sophia (Dina Mihailidou).

Riccardo Scamarcio as Elias is a real charmer who does innocence very effectively. He's a curly-haired Tony Curtis. He manages to carry off a lot of very ordinary slapstick and revels in non-verbal interactions. Unfortunately his character's naivete is just one of several weaknesses in the screenplay. Elias is a generic refugee from an unnamed country whose religion and other cultural background are not presented. He is implicitly Muslim since he is shocked at first by nudity, alcohol and gratuitous sex. He's a fast learner.

There is a quirky, self-indulgent series of scenes with film crews in the background that adds little to the story or experience.

Despite the seriousness of its underlying themes, we are presented a cheery, optimistic view of humanity. Sadly the plight of refugees becomes submerged in its 'life is beautiful' message.

As an allegory about modern Western society it lacks punch. The film is a confused mix of comedy, drama, social satire and farce. It just isn't going anywhere.

The ending just doesn't do it either. It will take more than magic to change the inequities of modern civilisation or resolve a directionless plot.

Amreeka: Fresh Off The Boat

Melbourne International Film Festival


Amreeka presents the experiences of Palestinians living in the West Bank and those who migrate to the United States. The word is Arabic for America. It’s about their everyday lives rather than the political situation, though this dictates many aspects of their existence at home and abroad. The impact of 9/11 on work, school, family relationships and normal social interactions underlies this very human story.

Two sisters from Bethlehem of all places are reunited in Illinois: Muna (Nisreen Faour) the optimist who wants a better life for her 16 year old son Fadi (Melkar Muallem) and Raghda (Hiam Abbass) the hardened pessimist who wants her husband Nabeel (Yussuf Abu-Warda) to take them back to Palestine.

Adjusting to American culture is hard enough without the added burdens of prejudice against migrants and the anti-Arab feelings generated by the war on terrorism.

In many ways writer/director Cherien Dabis has created a soft-sell movie. It’s about understanding not retribution and it's executed with lots of humour. We do not see the worst of the occupation. It mostly presents the small humiliations and day-to-day abuse of their rights.

The wall dominates their lives. Its graffiti calls not too subtly to the audience: “ICH BIN EIN BERLINER!” and “BEEN THERE DONE THAT!”

Of course, the anti-Islamic feelings are misdirected as Muna’s family are not Muslims. This is not the first use of this trite device in a film about Middle Eastern migrants. Among others the Lebanese in The Combination are Christians but experience the same kind of racial profiling.

The first two people to befriend Muna are outsiders themselves. Her workmate Matt (Brodie Sanderson) is a high school dropout. Mr. Novatski (Joseph Ziegler), a teacher from Fadi’s school, is a Polish American Jew.

The rest of Muna’s extended family are well portrayed by the strong cast including her three nieces Salma (Alia Shawkat), Rana (Jenna Kawar) and Lamis (Selena Haddad) and her mother.

Amreeka is a gentle persuader that is well worth seeing.

Noodle: a bit hard to swallow

It has taken two years for Noodle to reach Melbourne. It’s a lightweight but enjoyable Israeli comedy/drama. Like classic Shakespearean comedy the relationships are confused, with multiple misunderstandings.

Two sisters share a unit in Tel Aviv. Miri (Mili Avital) is an El Al flight attendant who has lost two husbands in the ongoing military conflicts. The other sister Gila (Anat Waxman) has her estranged husband Izzy (Alon Abutbul) living next door. He's an unlikely leading man.

The central plot could only happen in Israel where the use of illegal immigration as a theme must have more than a touch of irony. It has a fluffy, happy ending that is uplifting if corny and predictable.

Noodle is a Chinese boy. The attempts to reunite him with his mother are the catalyst for the romantic elements in the film.

It's a well chosen, competent cast. Director and co-writer Ayelet Menahemi has created a tight, fast flowing story. This is another multiple language film. Hebrew is the main one, plus English and Chinese.

Noodle has the feel of a telemovie, which might explain its limited cinema release. The plot is a bit hard to swallow but it’s worth a look if you need cheering up.

Not So Gran Torino

The setting for Gran Torino is the Global Financial Crisis' 'Ground Zero': the suburbs of 'Motor-City' Detroit before the worst of the sub-prime meltdown.

I didn't review Gran Torino when it was first released because I was disappointed with it. It deserves big ticks for: good acting; a tight script and topicality. But the crosses are a lot to bear from such great filmmakers: lack of originality; pedestrian predictability and a dearth of insights. Going by the box office and its continuing presence in Australian cinemas I seem to be in a small minority.

This is a story that has all the elements to make some indelible statements about modern urban society in countries like the U.S. and Australia. It has similarities to the recent Oz film The Combination that explored similar issues in Sydney. We have the clash of cultures and generations. Racial and ethnic tensions. Drugs, guns and gangs. Unemployment.

Walt Kowalski is a widower, a Korean War veteran living next to Hmong refugees. He is an alien in his own neighbourhood. This old autoworker and his classic 1972 Ford Gran Torino represent a past glory that has long faded. Clint Eastwood does modern alienation better than anyone. He’s as bitter as the beer that is his constant companion.

However, his character does not move far beyond the stereotype: the redneck who learns to open up his heart of gold; the poor communicator who is misunderstood; the gun toting but ultimately selfless vigilante; the tough, silent enigma who triumphs over his prejudices. His best friend is his dog Daisy. As the official website's Production Notes announce, “They don’t make them like they used to.”

The rest of the cast do an admirable job: Bee Vang as Thao Vang Lor, the teenager who Walt mentors; Ahney HerSue as his sister Lor; Chee Thao as their Grandma.

Nick Schenk’s screenplay is tight but overly sentimental and very predictable. Still it’s a praiseworthy effort for a first timer screenwriter. It certainly suited Director/Producer Eastwood’s acting style: the stare, the locked jaw. At times he feels like a cross between Michael Douglas in Falling Down and Gary Cooper in High Noon .

So what are the messages of Gran Torino? Prejudice breeds in ignorance. All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. The work ethic and self-reliance are the way out.

This film says little new about multi-cultural societies or the possibilities for reconciling their deep-seated problems. We see the good, the bad and the ugly side of community: family, prejudice and gangbangers. The macho ethos that dominates so much of modern life is skimmed over. We discover during a visit to the barber that real men aren’t racist, sexist, ignorant and rude. That’s just the way they interact with their mates.

The ending is clichéd and unsatisfactory in most respects. You would have expected the blatantly telegraphed punches to rankle Million Dollar Baby’s creator a bit more.

Frozen River: what goes around...

If you think times are tough, then make sure you see Frozen River to put life in first world society into perspective. It is the story of two women who put their lives and freedom on the line for their children. Melissa Leo’s stellar performance was nominated for an Oscar as Best Actress in a Leading Role. Hollywood doesn’t have many good roles for women of a certain age but the independents keep finding them.

This story is set on the U.S./Canada border. The St.Lawrence River runs through a Mohawk reservation when it isn’t iced-over, dividing New York State and Quebec Province. Leo plays Ray Eddy whose husband has skipped off with the little money they had to indulge his gambling addiction. She is a middle-aged mother of two boys whose one ambition is to buy a “double-wide” trailer home for them. Lila Littlewolf (Misty Upham) is a young Mohawk widow who wants to get back her baby son.

People smuggling creates their partnership and cements their friendship. Together they brave the ice, the underworld and the police to pay for their dreams. This is a film about the under-class: not the superficial stereotypes of trailer trash and indolent indigenous, but individuals, with all their idiosyncrasies, barely surviving even in good economic times.

Apparently the filming was completed in 24 days on a Panasonic Vericam. Ironically it’s now a Sony Classics Picture. It’s another independent movie that outshines most of its rich Hollywood cousins. Writer/director Courtney Hunt has given us a well-structured script that is tightly realised. There is nothing quite like being short of money to focus the mind. It’s certainly true of our protagonists, even if they do make a number of shaky choices.

Hunt deals with several controversial issues including border protection, refugees, the war on terrorism and tribal culture. Not to mention personal and legal responsibility. If you think her treatment of these themes has simple political correctness, then look more closely. As the women tread outside the law they maintain their own strong personal morality. But don't expect Thelma and Louise. There is no glamour in a convertible here. They'd freeze to death.

A couple of examples will no doubt rile those who see these issues in black and white. Most of the illegal aliens are Chinese. Ray doesn’t feel right about smuggling Pakistanis, with almost fatal consequences. She’s not even sure where Pakistan is but she does not want to chance trafficking terrorists.

Ray’s 15 year old son T.J. steals credit card details from a Mohawk woman to get money for a Christmas present for his little brother. His punishment by the Tribal Patrol is to apologise face to face to her. Full stop.

Throughout the film he spends time renovating a pedal-driven carousel. It had very distant echoes for me, of the 1956 film of Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical Carousel. It is about an unemployed father-to-be who gets killed committing a robbery to help finance his child’s future. What goes around?

You’d better move fast to catch this one at the cinema, which it deserves.

The Combination sparks strong reactions

The new Australian film The Combination is getting international attention.

Lebanese-Australian writer Antoun Issa has posted for Global Voices about reactions to the movie:

An Australian film depicting Lebanese gang life in Sydney's western suburbs has sparked more than a series of reviews.

The film, “The Combination“, was pulled from several cinemas in Sydney after brawls broke out, following the screenings.

“The Combination” was eventually re-scheduled, however extra security was added to keep the troublemakers at bay.
Australian film on Lebanese gangs talk of the town

Haven't had a chance to see it yet so my review will have to wait.

The Class: Up close and personal

The Class (Entre Les Murs) was up close and personal for me. The scenes in Laurent Cantet’s French language film took me back to the thousands of hours I spent teaching migrant students in very multicultural secondary schools in Australia.

If you’ve ever had much to do with adolescents, it is not hard to empathise with its main character François Marin (François Bégaudeau). He struggles to maintain order and purpose for his class of young teenagers whilst trying to create a flexible and humane classroom.

As indicated by the original French title, Between the Walls, this can be a very claustrophobic experience. His teaching space is tiny and sparse with none of the technological aides of 21st Century education. A visit to a fairly primitive computer lab is a refreshing if infrequent break from chalk, leaky ballpoint pens and exercise books. The walled, concrete playground is more like a prison exercise yard, a too-obvious visual metaphor.

We are slowly introduced to the individual students as each struggles to find their own identity in a sometimes hostile society and tough environment. The frustrations of both teachers and parents to make sense of it all and create opportunities for them is starkly portrayed.

The tension in the story builds as François’s egalitarian style leads to an explosive climax. His often-confronting dialogue with the students erupts into a confrontation where he wishes that he could drag his words back.

At the end we are left with both despair and hope, a combination that is only too familiar to many teachers.

It is a remarkable mixture of real life and fiction. Reality film in its true sense. The school community of Françoise Dolto Junior High in Paris' 20th arrondissement make up almost the entire cast: teachers, students and parents. François is a teacher himself who wrote the original story on which the film is based.

This movie is remarkable for several reasons, apart from its cast. Among these are:

• It is based on Bégaudeau’s prize-winning semi-autobiographical book exploring the experiences of a teacher in inner Paris junior high school.


• It is told without taking sides. The views of teachers who disagree with his approach get a fair airing.


• The quality of the acting by amateurs is outstanding, especially the students.


• The use of three hand-held Sony HD cameras in the classroom brings both authenticity and immediacy, without the audience feeling overly aware of their presence in such a confined space.


• The use of improvisation to bring the script to life worked exceptionally well.


• The narrative evolved from the original script in unexpected ways. According to François:

"One day, I asked Carl to be very aggressive toward his teacher, and he proposed a scene of unexpected violence. A few seconds later, I suggested another situation : he has come from another junior high school where he had been kicked out; here he wants to pass for a nice kid. Instantly, he created a quiet character, intimidated by François. The scene is actually in the film."

• The genuine voices of the adolescents:

"Most films about adolescents show them as monosyllabic. For us, without a doubt, the dominant force of The Class is the loquacious and lively adolescent, rather than melancholic and inhibited."

These quotes and the photo above are from the Press Kit which can be downloaded from the official website.

The Class was the winner of the Palme D’Or at 2008 Cannes Film Festival.

The Visitor: We are not helpless children!

The Visitor is a film you shouldn't miss.

"We are not helpless children!"

Richard Jenkins is Walter Vale, a Connecticut Economics professor struggling, through music, to find some meaning in his life without his wife. "Tarek is teaching me the drum. I sound a lot better when he is playing with me."

Haaz Sleiman is Tarek, a gentle but passionate professional drummer from Syria who faces deportation from the U.S. as an illegal alien. "I just want to live my life and play my music. What's so wrong about that."

Danai Gurira plays Zainab, Tarek's Senegalese partner. She works as a jewellery-maker living each day in fear of deportation. "Sometimes Tarek would point at the Statue and jump up and down like we are arriving in New York for the first time."

Hiam Abbass, is Mouna, Tarek's mother, trying to protect her son from the fate which killed her husband.

Tom McCarthy's direction is both understated and in-your-face. It is hard not to be touched by each of the main characters and their troubled lives. They are finely drawn without resorting to stereotypes.

On the other hand he is not afraid to make his political points without subtlety. The clichéd symbolism of the Statue of Liberty, both in its real form and as a mural in the detention centre, is only trumped by seemingly innocent references to the Twin Towers and Ellis Island.

You don't have to be deeply interested in issues related to refugees, asylum seekers or 21st Century xenophobia to enjoy this film. In fact it might help. It was the personal rather than the political level that made The Visitor the best U.S. movie I've seen for ages.