Comment on Indiosyncratic 'Other Side of Hope' proves journey worth taking

Finnish films have been generating their fair share of buzz lately. "Tom of Finland" and "The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Maki" have found a small, if enthusiastic, audience on this side of the Atlantic. Aki Kaurismäki's charmingly deadpan "The Other Side of Hope" should follow a similar path. Kaurismäki takes a serious topic - the plight of Middle Eastern refugees searching for shelter and security in Europe - and turns it into an extremely understated, vaguely comic character study reminiscent of the work of American director Jim Jarmusch ("Mystery Train"). The film, screening at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, this weekend, begins on two tracks.