A fairy tale is the right expression to describe “Le Havre.” There’s nothing fantastical about this Finnish film set in France, but it’s filled with good-hearted characters and a slightly saccharine story that makes the entire thing feel blissfully right.
Marcel Marx (Andre Wilms) is a shoe shiner in the French port city Le Havre. His job is to make people clean, but he’s in some murky waters. His loving wife Arletty (Kati Outinen) is sick in a tragically Old Hollywood way. And now a boy discovered in a group of African refugees making their way to England in a shipping crate has escaped from the police into Marcel’s care.
The boy’s name is Idrissa (Blondin Miguel), and he’s quiet and timid but willing to help and anxious to get to England. Marcel has no reason to help him, but he does. That generosity and genuine tender care seems to supersede any accusations of “Le Havre” being one-dimensional or simple minded.
Director Aki Kaurismaki has lovingly depicted a helpful, generous culture in his film. Rather than convey this through melodrama, he plays with the film’s tone and keeps the mood somewhat goofy and strange.
He never contrives any character flaw to make us feel sympathy, and he never betrays the grounded roots of his story. Kaurismaki asks lines like, “Have you been crying? No. Good. It won’t help,” and moves on. In this way, he turns the somewhat dirty town of Le Havre into something brighter with so many sunny and helpful personalities to be found.
Suffice it to say, “Le Havre” ends happily. It’s a light, cinematic treat with a dash of whimsy that could hardly be made in America.
3 stars