Le Havre

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Sergio A I thought so many themes couldn’t possibly fit into a 90-minute film, but I was wrong…. Kaurismäki makes everything flow seamlessly. Friendship, love, solidarity, immigration, and compassion all coexist without a hitch. Over the years, his cinema has become more refined, more delicate, and deeply human. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/29/25 Full Review Leaburn O A French light comedy with a very happy, uplifting ending. Felt kind of lightweight to me. Shot with those pastel French coloured backgrounds that were all the rage post Amelie. Kitsch. Watched on DVD. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/03/25 Full Review Dominic R Every clip is a work of art, the colours, the subtle movement, Little Bob, how we were drawn into the characters, I am happy that movies like this are still being made. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/11/25 Full Review Martona T The theatrical composition of each scene creates a beautiful path of images leading the way for the viewer through this smooth fable story. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 12/13/24 Full Review luca j Bit white saviour-y, but that's my only complaint. Otherwise a fairly emotionally informative, very cute and touching little film. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review William L My only other Aki Kaurismäki film to date is his 1988 drama Ariel, where the comedy is much more subdued and dark, but also much funnier than what we ended up with in Le Havre; that deadpan seems to be the traditional territory for the director, which makes his sharp left turn into lighthearted, wholesome comedy something of a surprise. Le Havre is a very romantic, crowd-pleasing story that imparts a warm, golden glow to a serious and rather morose subject - modern refugee movements - with compassionate characters with plenty of personality and charm. There's not an ounce of ill will or human frailty in this film, which will make you either love it or hate it; once you accept that literally nothing can go wrong in this universe apart from a few mild inconveniences that serve either to bring people closer together or to provide comic relief, you'll get a sense of where the film is headed. The performances are warm and inviting, particularly André Wilms as Marcel Marx, who is a charming, elderly rascal with a heart of gold, but sometimes the film just seems to overplay its hand with how much credit it gives people, with an entire neighborhood coming together to shield an illegal alien from apprehension by the authorities without any real motivation, or Marcel placing what little money he has in an envelope for his new apprentice with a wife slowly dying in the hospital. I guess Frank Capra would be proud, but we're drifting out of the realm of reality for a few fuzzy moments. Plus, very strange and out of place musical number from French blues-rock singer Little Bob. What was up with that? (3/5) Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/14/22 Full Review Read all reviews

Le Havre

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