Year: 2011
Director: Aki Kaurismaki
Country: Finland
Language: France
When one thinks of the "fantasy" genre, what usually comes to mind are films like Lord of the Rings and Pan's Labyrinth. A film that is set in modern day France, which doesn't consist of supernatural beings, is not exactly the type that incites Directors to make fairy-tales about. Yet Aki Kaurismaki does and he makes a wonderful enchanting film, despite the fact that the Finnish man has never known a word of French.
Le Havre is set in the nearly forgotten town in France with the same name. It concerns an aging shoe shiner named Marcel Marx (Andre Wilms) who finds an African boy and welcomes him in his home. Meanwhile inspector Monet (Jean-Pierre Darroussin) is on his trail, because the African boy is an illegal immigrant who arrived via cargo ship a few days earlier.
"I think the more pessimistic I feel about life, the more optimistic the films should be," said Kaurismaki at a conference at the Cannes Film Festival. Indeed Le Havre is an incredibly optimistic film about the triumph over the human spirit in times of adversity. It is so technically well made and well acted that it could also pass for a great silent film. While not Chaplin-esque in slapstick humor, the comedy in this is very deadpan, it is similar in sentimentalism. Like Chaplin, Kaurismaki favors the under-dog, specifically the proletariat working class.
Le Havre is a refreshingly different film for 2011, for instance there is no CGI in sight. It is not over-stimulating, rather it is slow paced, reasonably short and incredibly expressive. It's a very fluid film that mixes comedy and drama in a remarkably natural way. To pull of a mixture of dark and ironic humor while still maintaining and upbeat and cheerful mood is incredibly difficult, but the Director pulls it off.
In conclusion, Le Havre is a brilliant blend of poetry and realism. It's quite an inspiring film that incites creativity and, more importantly, hope in mankind. Kaurismaki portrays a world that isn't, but that he would like to exist. It's not an impossibly hard world to imagine, perhaps in a few years it will exist. I guess the most important "lesson" you can take from this film is that miracles do happen. Praise it! 5/5
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