Having buried his dreams of a literary breakthrough, Marcel Marx (André Wilms) has withdrawn into voluntary exile in the port city of Le Havre, living contentedly within the serene cycle of his local bar, his work as a shoe-shiner, and his wife Arletty (Kati Outinen). However, dark clouds are gathering over the harmony. A young refugee boy, Idrissa (Blondin Miguel), needs an older man’s help to reach his mother in England, and as Arletty falls seriously ill, Marcel must polish his own shoes and show his grit. He finds himself up against the faceless machinery of the entire Western system of oppression and the inexorably tightening net of the local policeman (Jean-Pierre Darroussin), who is hunting Idrissa. The spirit of goodness is bolstered by Marcel’s innate optimism and the unwavering solidarity of the neighbourhood.
Kaurismäki beautifully references both Chaplin’s The Kid (1921) — also showing at the festival this year — and Casablanca (1942), proving along the way that militant political cinema doesn’t have to be dryly pedantic. Le Havre is, unfortunately, just as relevant today as it was fifteen years ago, but its kind heart and clear, humanistic worldview continue to bring light to the darkness.
Lauri Timonen