Seeking out the
5000 greatest films
in a century of cinema
Le Havre
Directed by
Aki Kaurismäki
Produced by Aki Kaurismäki
Written by Aki Kaurismäki
Produced by Aki Kaurismäki
Written by Aki Kaurismäki
With:
André Wilms, Kati Outinen, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Blondin Miguel, Elina Salo, Evelyne Didi, Quoc Dung Nguyen, Laïka, François Monnié, Little Bob, Pierre Étaix, Jean-Pierre Léaud, and Vincent Lebodo
Cinematography:
Timo Salminen
Editing: Timo Linnasalo
Editing: Timo Linnasalo
Runtime:
93 min
Release Date: 08 September 2011
Aspect Ratio: 1.85 : 1
Color: Color
Release Date: 08 September 2011
Aspect Ratio: 1.85 : 1
Color: Color
Finnish writer-director Aki Kaurismäki’s light-weight piece of Chaplinesque fantasy-realism may warm the hearts of many, but I find it precious and artificial. It is one of those optimistic portraits of community and working class honor that rings so false it makes you want to watch a five-day Ken Loach marathon to get the taste of this saccharine concoction out of your mouth. In my view, films like this have to commit to a unified tone. I love both Vittorio De Sica’s 1948 neo-realist classic Bicycle Thieves and Lasse Hallstrom’s 2000 fake-French-film Chocolat, but you can’t expect me to enjoy watching both films at the same time.