Details

Release year: 2017

Storyline

A poker-playing restaurateur and former traveling salesman befriends a group of refugees newly arrived to Finland.

Top credits

Directors

Aki Kaurismäki

Writers

Aki Kaurismäki

Cast

Sherwan Haji — Khaled
Sakari Kuosmanen — Waldemar Wikström
Kaija Pakarinen — Wikströmin vaimo
Tuomari Nurmio — Katusoittaja

See all 88 credits →

Did you know

• The actors playing siblings Khaled and Miriam are real-life siblings.

• Prior to the film's release, director/producer Aki Kaurismäki and his long-time set decorator Markku Pätilä got into a dispute about how the credits are listed in the Finnish-titled version, as all set-related credits (set decorator, property master, and set builder) are listed under the single title "Lavastus". Kaurismäki's response for that this wording would downgrade Pätilä's role and artistic rights in the set design; Kaurismäki rejected these claims and also said Kaurismäki himself designed the detailed visual look of the film and even provided large part of the props. The response also promised that in the international version with English titles Pätilä would be the only person listed under title "set decorator". On February 1st 2017 Pätilä and his lawyers filed a case to The Market Court in Helsinki to seek an injunction on the film's release in Finland in its current form; the next day the court ruled that there was no need to ban the film, and the issues regarding the rights on the film's set design would be determined later--assuming that the parties cannot reach a settlement outside the court before that.

• This film is part of the Criterion Collection, spine #922.