Le Havre (2011)

Director:

Aki Kaurismäki

Writer:

Aki Kaurismäki (written by)

Release Date:

8 September 2011 (Germany)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

When an African boy arrives by cargo ship in the port city of Le Havre, an aging shoe shiner takes pity on the child and welcomes him into his home. |

Plot Keywords:

Shoe Shiner | Container | Charity Event | Migrant Camp | Ill Wife

Awards:

15 wins & 19 nominations

Cast

André Wilms	...	Marcel Marx
Kati Outinen	...	Arletty
Jean-Pierre Darroussin	...	Monet
Blondin Miguel	...	Idrissa
Elina Salo	...	Claire
Evelyne Didi	...	Yvette
Quoc Dung Nguyen	...	Chang (as Quoc-Dung Nguyen)
Laïka	...	Laïka - Dog
François Monnié	...	Epicier
Little Bob	...	Little Bob (as Roberto Piazza)
Pierre Étaix	...	Docteur Becker
Jean-Pierre Léaud	...	Le dénonciateur
Vincent Lebodo	...	Francis
Umban U'kset	...	Mahamat Saleh
Patrick Bonnel	...	Le directeur du centre de rétention
Ilkka Koivula	...	L'Italien
Myriam 'Mimie' Piazza	...	Mimie
Luce Vigo	...	La vendeuse sandwiches
Valérie Caron	...	Eoupse épicier
Jérôme Boyer	...	Policier frontière
Jean-Luc Guion Firmin	...	Réfugié Calais
Pierre Morineau	...	Gardien de nuit containers
Johann Rioux	...	Commandant CRS
Julien Flematti	...	CRZ zélé
Eric Duteil	...	Médecin
Corinne Belet	...	Infirmière
Dominique Lepagne	...	Infirmière
Anne Lizy	...	Infirmière
Pierre Richards	...	Employé dock
Loïc Jamet	...	Employé dock 2
Nico Garotin	...	Membre group Little Bob
Bertrand Couloume	...	Membre group Little Bob
Nicolas Noël	...	Membre group Little Bob
Gilles Mallet	...	Membre group Little Bob
Gilles Adam	...	Pilier bar La Moderne / Préfet
Patrick Leboucher	...	Pilier bar La Moderne
Michel Lacaille	...	Pilier bar La Moderne
Stéphane Livonnen	...	Pilier bar La Moderne
Arnaud Clément	...	Client bar La Moderne
Dominique Comont	...	Client bar La Moderne
Alain Guillot	...	Client bar La Moderne
Philippe Hubschwerlin	...	Client bar La Moderne
Franck Durand	...	Client bar La Moderne
Christian Amyard	...	Docker
Rudy Amyard	...	Docker
Brice Augé	...	Docker
Lucas Loubaresse	...	Tueur
Ireneusz Spiewak	...	Tueur
Gilles Charmant	...	Vendeur de chaussures
Mary Berkelmans	...	Ménagère
Seluna Lemercier	...	Ménagère
Fanette Martinié	...	Ménagère
Remi Pradinas	...	Curé
Stéphane Parthenay	...	Curé
Alain Chapelain	...	Accordéoniste
Rachid Bessal	...	Réfugié Calais
Oumar Ly	...	Réfugié Calais
Emmanuel Ingweiler	...	Photographe
Mathieu Hébert	...	Barman
Frank Atinault	...	Pêcheur
Dominiqur Mare	...	Pêcheur
Brice Niel	...	Pêcheur
Alban Rutten	...	Pêcheur
Franck Rutten	...	Pêcheur
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Christophe Perez	...	Police Officer (uncredited)

Directed by
Aki Kaurismäki

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Aki Kaurismäki		written by

Produced by
Karl Baumgartner	....	co-producer
Reinhard Brundig	....	co-producer
Hanna Hemilä	....	executive producer
Hanna Hemilä	....	line producer
Aki Kaurismäki	....	producer
Stéphane Parthenay	....	line producer
Fabienne Vonier	....	co-producer

Cinematography by
Timo Salminen

Film Editing by
Timo Linnasalo

Production Design by
Wouter Zoon

Costume Design by
Frédéric Cambier

Makeup Department
Valerie Thery-Hamel	....	key makeup artist

Production Management
Valérie Farthouat	....	executive in charge of production
Claire Langmann	....	unit production manager
Mark Lwoff	....	production manager
Remi Pradinas	....	production manager
Haije Tulokas	....	executive in charge of production
Augustin Werkoff	....	assistant unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Gilles Charmant	....	first assistant director
Renaud Gast	....	third assistant director
Lucas Loubaresse	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Pascal Courtinel	....	painter
Pomme Delépine	....	assistant art director
Sebastien Gallien	....	assistant carpenter
Sebastien Gallien	....	carpenter
Jean Claude Guillemain	....	carpenter
Jean-Claude Guilleman	....	construction coordinator
Thomas Pitre	....	first assistant art director
Gérard Simonet	....	construction coordinator
Ireneusz Spiewak	....	property master
Laurent Thevenot	....	painter
Wouter Zoon	....	set designer

Sound Department
Iisakki Hormia	....	post-production sound synch assistant
Konsta Hormia	....	post-production sound synch
Benjamin Laurent	....	boom operator
Tero Malmberg	....	sound editor
Tero Malmberg	....	sound
Olli Pärnänen	....	sound mixer

Camera and Electrical Department
Lazar Abdelkebir	....	camera car
Mika Ailasmäki	....	first assistant camera
Cyril Dupont	....	electrician
Eric Garzena	....	lighting technician
Marja-Leena Hukkanen	....	still photographer (as Malla Hukkanen)
Kalle Penttilä	....	grip
Anne Vahlsten	....	second assistant camera
Olli Varja	....	gaffer
Ville Väänänen	....	lighting technician

Casting Department
Jean Eninger	....	casting assistant: children
Renaud Gast	....	extras casting
Elsa Pharaon	....	casting: children

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Clara Lyonnet	....	wardrobe
Diane Wehrly	....	wardrobe trainee

Editorial Department
Gérard Estival	....	color timer
Kirsi Hatara	....	post-production secretary: Finland

Transportation Department
Lucien Lefèbvre	....	driver

Other crew
Anne Berjon	....	production assistant: France
Eve Bruant	....	caterer
Irmeli Debarle	....	interpreter
Irmeli Debarle	....	translator
Agnès Fanget	....	traffic controller
Valérie Farthouat	....	production administrator
Camelia Förster	....	secretary: Germany
Marja-Leena Hukkanen	....	script supervisor (as Malla Hukkanen)
Stéphanie Jossec	....	traffic controller
Eevi Kareinen	....	production secretary: Finland
Heikki Keskinen	....	production accountant: Finland
Philippe Leconte	....	legal supervisor: France
Louise Lehec	....	production trainee: France
Jeffrey Leiser	....	deliverables coordinator
Frank Lesniak	....	traffic controller
Marine Longuet	....	assistant location manager
Mikko Lyytikäinen	....	translator
Guillaume Moinard	....	assistant location manager
Paula Oinonen	....	dog trainer: Laika
Reichenbach Pauline	....	location manager trainee
Élise Pradinas	....	nanny
Mathieu Raab	....	traffic controller
Frédéric Sibeud	....	traffic controller
Thibault Spiral	....	traffic controller
Rainer Teusner	....	production accountant: Germany
Augustin Werkoff	....	assistant location manager

Production Companies

• Sputnik (as Sputnik Oy)
• Pyramide Productions
• Pandora Filmproduktion (as Pandora Film)
• arte France Cinéma (in co-production with)
• ZDF/Arte (in co-production with)
• Finnish Film Foundation (as The Finnish Film Foundation) (in co-production with)
• Canal+ (with the participation of)
• Nordisk Film- & TV-Fond (with the participation of)
• Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC) (with the participation of)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (as YLE Coproductions) (with the participation of)
• CinéCinéma (with the participation of)
• Arte France (with the participation of)
• Région Haute-Normandie (as La Région Haute-Normandie) (with the participation of)
• Pôle Image Haute-Normandie (in association with)

Distributors

• A-Film Distribution (2012) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• A-Film Distribution (2012) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Alfa Films (2012) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Euro Space (2012) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Feelgood Entertainment (2012) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Films We Like (2011) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Future Film (2011) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Janus Films (2011) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Pyramide Distribution (2011) (France) (theatrical)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (2012) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (2012) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Criterion Collection, The (2012) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2012) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• EDKO Film (2013) (Hong Kong) (DVD)
• Film1 (2012) (Netherlands) (TV) (limited)
• Filmcoopi Zürich (2011) (Switzerland) (all media)
• Mantarraya Producciones (2011) (Mexico) (all media)
• Midas Filmes (2012) (Portugal) (all media)
• Pandora Film Verleih (2012) (Germany) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Cinésyl  grip and lighting equipment

Also Known As:

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

Finland | France | Germany

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Finland:K-3 | Norway:A | USA:Not Rated | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Sweden:Btl | Netherlands:12 | Portugal:M/12 (Qualidade) | Ireland:PG | UK:PG | South Korea:All | Hong Kong:I | New Zealand:G | Australia:PG | Germany:o.Al. | Argentina:Atp | Singapore:PG | Singapore:PG13 (Blu-ray)

Filming Locations:

Impasse Réal, Le Havre, Seine-Maritime, France

Company:

Sputnik

Trivia:

Finland's official submission to the Best Foreign Language Film category of the 84th Academy Awards 2012.

Quotes:

Marcel Marx:L'argent circule au crepuscule.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Smallest Red Carpet, But the Biggest Heart (2011)

Soundtrack:

Bolero

Blossomed Cherry Tree

This is a sweet, lightly intoxicating thing like a small glass of calvados under the wisteria in the evening. Kaurismaki has aged and his outcast and misfit characters aged with him, the quirks mellowed, the ferocious smoking toned down, the lines in the sometimes quietly astonished stone faces deeper, wearier, but imbued with almost ascetic serenity.

Some viewers have complained, why trivialize an actual problem in the manner of a fairy tale? A fair complaint for a problem perhaps more pressing than ever, especially in France and especially these days, with Sarkozi's desperate attempt to shore up votes for what looks like near-certain defeat in the upcoming elections by reverting to reactionary rhetorics from the far-right.

No, I believe the fairy-tale is the point. The idyllic neighborhood. The mannered caricatures of French people, with even the poorest having the time and fine sense of taste to leisurely enjoy their freshly baked baguette or glass of wine. The miraculous turn of events, explicitly acknowledged in the finale where kindness of this world is so overwhelming it even cures sickness. How could anyone miss this?

But a certain emptiness has always been of the essence for Kaurismaki, deliberate, designed emptiness.

The world is always flat to that effect, two-dimensional. The characters lack any conventional depth to speak of and do not really grow or learn lessons. By contrast, the plots of the films often exhibit a life of spontaneous motion, the objectives intentionally abstract, journeys across town, to America, in search of coffee and cigarettes. Motion for the sheer musical capacity of life to fill the quiet, the room in the heart to do so.

So it is always a variation of transient worlds centered in the stillness of the present moment that Kaurismaki has studied and consistently delivered. What is so remarkable is that he achieves this without any layering whatsoever, as a single flow.

This is his most Japanese film to date, even more concentrated flow than usual. Which is to say artificial nature that does not attempt to pass for the real thing but instead is empty space cultivated for beauty, a road-map for inner heart.

(I saw this together with the recent viral video KONY2012 and the contrast was amazing: that one, shameless artifice passing as nature, as truth, the real thing, contriving to motivate awareness several years after the fact and by selling merchandise, but was in truth both misinformed and morally dubious and even perhaps unwittingly manipulated agitprop in the service of shady foreign policy, while this one is simple, crisp, gracefully moral work, that does create awareness without any agendas.)

So it is very much the point that no one in the film is shown to wallow in misery, and most of the characters we meet would have plenty of reason to do so. Instead they enjoy this drink or meal together, whatever is at hand. And act with no complaint in the present moment to do what needs to be done. There is no meddlesome thought or proud ego to cloud the mind from the day's work, be it polishing shoes or helping out an immigrant kid.

This is the beauty of the thing: an idyll embedded with the purity of soul that gives rise to it and clear images only possible because of this cloudless eye.

The parting image is of a blossomed cherry tree gently rocking in the breeze, among the most traditionally Japanese images.

It encapsulates motion in stillness. The song of Zen.