Review No.163: Le Havre

I sometimes find that you can sum up a film with one adjective and if I were to do that with the next film on my list, Le Havre, then I would say it was simply charming. Le Havre is the latest film to be helmed by legendary Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki who has moved over to France, to be exact the Normandy port of the title, as a setting for his new project. The protagonist of Le Havre is Marcel Marx a former literary great who is now making a very modest living as a shoe shine as well as trying to care of his ill wife though this sometimes means stealing a couple of baguettes from the local bakery. Early on in the film Marcel meets Idrissa a young African boy who has escaped from the rest of the illegal immigrants who have arrived at the port and is desperate to meet up with his mother in London. Though Marcel is scared away by the police he later finds Idrissa in his outhouse and invites him to stay while his wife in hospital with a potentially fatal disease. The community rally around to help Idrissa while Marcel discovers the address of the boy's mother in London as well as hatching a plan to get him there on a fishing boat the only problem is raising the money to do it. Marcel's other big problem is that the wily head of the police Monet is onto him and is constantly trying to catch him out as he's aware that the boy is being hidden he just is yet to find the proof. After a benefit concert in Marcel's local bar he raises the money to send Idrissa home although will it be too late as Monet and the rest of the La Havre police force are on his tale.

So why did I describe Le Havre as charming? Mainly because it just has that quality about it and I found it very old-fashioned to the extent that if the currency exchanged wasn't Euros and there wasn't the plot about the immigrants then I would say it would've been set about fifty years ago. Andre Wiilms has a very classic screen presence about him and he almost reminds me of one of the silent comics as his mannerisms are spot on though he is also able to tackle more dramatic scenes such as the realisation that his wife might not come out of hospital. As our central antagonist Monet, Jean-Pierre Darroussin is a very stoic figure, often dressed top to toe in black, but one that bounces well off Marcel with the handful of scenes featuring the two being some of the film's best. The themes of the community bonding together also gives Le Havre a very earnest quality as Marcel is given more free food and is allowed to hold his benefit gig in the bar where he spends most of his time anyway. Kaurismäki blends old-school charm with a modern day issue to create a truly pleasing film which is well shot by cinematographer Timo Salminen who sweeps over the small houses of the town to give us a feel of what life is like there. I had a few problems with La Havre and most of them were due to the plot which at times, I personally felt, really didn't make a lot of sense especially the final scene featuring Idrissa and Marcel. These don't really stick with you after the film though but what does is a charming, often funny film which demonstrates friendship, love and acceptance in a way that is never saccharine but simply engaging and realistic.

Verdict: Though the plot suffers at times Le Havre is generally a charming film about love and friendship with some great performances, brilliant camerawork and a lovely score so for those reasons I will give it 7.5/10