In this warmhearted portrait of the French harbor city that gives the film its name, fate throws young African refugee Idrissa (Blondin Miguel) into the path of Marcel Marx (André Wilms), a well-spoken bohemian who works as a shoeshiner.
With innate optimism and the unwavering support of his community, Marcel stands up to officials doggedly pursuing the boy for deportation.
A political fairy tale that exists somewhere between the reality of contemporary France and the classic cinema of Jean-Pierre Melville and Marcel Carné, Le Havre is a charming, deadpan delight. —The Criterion Collection
Cast: André Wilms, Kati Outinen, Blondin Miguel, Elina Salo, Jean-Pierre Léaud, Ilkka Koivula, Evelyne Didi, Quoc Dung Nguyen, François Monnie, Pierre Étaix, Roberto Piazza, Jean-Pierre Darroussin
Cannes (In Competition): FIPRESCI Prize, Prize of the Ecumenical Jury - Special Mention, Karlovy Vary (Horizons), Melbourne (International Panorama), Locarno (Piazza Grande), San Sebastián (Zabaltegi-Pearls), New York, Toronto (Masters), Telluride, Chicago (Competition): Gold Hugo, Vancouver (Cinema of Our Time), Stockholm (Open Zone), Rotterdam (Spectrum)
Read about this film
Title: Le Havre (2011)
Directed by: Aki Kaurismäki
Date of birth: 4 April 1957, Orimattila, Finland
Writing credits:
Aki Kaurismäki
Music by: Tero Malmberg (sound)
Country: Finland | France | Germany
Language: French | Finnish
Color: Color
Runtime: 103 min.