Observing the ordinary lives in Le Havre
In 1992 Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki made his first French movie, "La Vie de Bohème", and now almost 20 years later he returns with a second French-language movie.
"Le Havre" (93 min.) centers around the ordinary lives of people like Marcel Marx (which character incidentally also appears in La Vie de Boheme and where he also was played by André Wilms). Marx tries to get by as a shoe-shiner, but life is hard. The house he and his wife Arletty have is modest at best. Then one day a group of illegal immigrants from Gabon are found in a container waiting to be shipped to London. A teenage boy manages to escape the police and eventually the boy and Marcel Marx link up. I don't want to spoil the plot any further than this, you'll just have to see how it all plays out for yourself.
This is not an "action" movie. Instead, it observes the ordinary lives of ordinary people, and in addition it is a love note of sorts to the city of Le Havre, which,...
Warmly haunting
Director Kaurismäki has created a story that is appealing as you watch it, but whose images and motifs will linger with you for days after you see it. His use of colour and lighting makes this visually alluring and his choices in casting have given him a pallet of wonderful faces to explore in his artistic manner. I had the impression at times of seeing a series of paintings of the Old Masters in an Art Gallery.In addition, there is a gentleness and a timelessness about this film which lifts it beyond the confines of its plot and setting. As other reviewers have stated this is not an action film as its plot is neither frenetic, nor full of the normal thrills many movie goers seek in such films.Another strength of this film is the strong acting from all members of the cast. There is a wonderful French feel about this film and many of the shots of the port city are quite lovely. I highly recommend it to those who are seeking more than simple entertainment and who would like to have...
A small gem of a film
Criterion has done another great job rescuing a little seen gem from Finnish director Aki Kaurismaki. Set on the French coastal port of Le Havre, an aging Marcel (Andre Wilms) ekes out a living on the street as a shoe shiner. He lives in a small apartment in a poor neighborhood with several small markets nearby.
A cargo ship unloads a container ultimately headed for London. Authorities discover it contains 20 or so people from North Africa. One teen age boy (Blondin Miguel) manages to get away and finds his way to Marcel while he is having his lunch. Marcel shelters and feeds the boy even though he worries about the authorities ultimately catching him and deporting him back to Africa. He also has to contend with his wife (Kati Outinen) who is in the hospital for what appears to be stomach cancer. Her prognosis is grim but she hides the probable outcome from Marcel.
Using his sympathetic neighbors and an unlikely police detective (Jean-Pierre Darroussin)...
Click to Editorial Reviews
No comments:
Post a Comment