Migrants at the gate: The erosion of democratic values
Aki Kaurismaki's "The Other Side of Hope" premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, which drew cheers from the audience. This would be the Finnish filmmaker's second feature on a planned trilogy on migrants. "Le Havre", the first, was released in 2011. Kaurismaki's latest recounted a sad fate of a Syrian migrant, who didn't like the taciturn, cold Finnish people. A salesman reluctantly helped the migrant until the former figured out that his marital problem was nothing compared to the latter's uncertain future.
Kaurismaki's laconic approach to his stories could be seen in "The Other Side of Hope", but he had another message. He noted the eroding European democratic values, and how he admired German chancellor Angela Merkel for setting a positive example.
"I was very modest in wanting to change the audience. I want to change the world," Kaurismaki said.
It would be interesting if "The Other Side of Hope" became the Finnish submission to the 90th Academy Award in the Best Foreign Film category. If the Academy voters decided to include Kaurismaki's latest in the shortlist of nine films, then it could be due to the merits of that movie. If it would be nominated for an Academy Award, then it could be something else. Hollywood would have another strong message for the Trump administration. Films that dramatize the plight of migrants seemed like a dime a dozen, and it wouldn't endear to moviegoers in most cases. For instance, "Exodus" (1960) recounted the events that led to the founding of the state of Israel. There were divided reactions on Otto Preminger's soft stance on the anti-British and anti-Arab sentiments, which might not have been the case if this big-budget picture was produced a decade later. On the other hand, European productions have made many pictures of the struggles of Africans who wanted to find a better life in Europe. Perhaps critics (and observers) seemed out of a touch with reality at that moment.
In "Le Havre", Kaurismaki preached the virtue of compassion. Marcel gave up on his literary ambitions, deciding to move from Paris to Le Havre. He settled on being a shoeshiner, where he encountered migrants struggling to make ends meet in this port city. (In Marcel's case, his frequent companion was another shoeshiner from Vietnam.) On his way home, Marcel found an illegal immigrant on the run. He came from Africa and was separated from his parents on the way to London. Marcel didn't have second thoughts, even his neighbors. He was a young boy. Then again, there have many people of color who found some success, if not prominence, in France.
Kaurismaki might not have struggled to modify the premise of "Le Havre" if he decided to have an Arab lad in place of the African boy, but it could make the audience squirm in their seats. Given the history of terrorist attacks in Europe, ordinary Europeans could have a hard time to trust Middle East migrants. It might be a universal truth that people would be afraid of what they couldn't understand, even what the immediate future would be. In this regard, they don't like another invasion of Europe by the Muslims. (There may not be a European culture sooner or later.) The current political climate would encourage suspicion, and Donald Trump started a snowball.
Nonetheless, Kaurismaki's film was a gentle reminder that something could be worked out. The director might illustrate it in his third (and final) movie (on migrants).
