Le Havre
PG
Why watch?
“With laconic wit, delightfully desolate imagery and three decades of filmmaking under his belt, Kaurismäki has mastered the art of creating wondrous worlds in which everything seems hopeless yet nothing impossible. Le Havre captures that sense of melancholy and longing perfectly and wraps itself around you like a cosy blanket.”
Fran Albrecht,
Milk Teeth Productions
Shot on 35mm, Le Havre tells the story of shoeshiner Marcel Marx, a bohemian at heart, whose mundane life changes when his wife Arletty becomes seriously ill, and a young African immigrant gets stranded in the French port city. Fearing deportation, Idrissa finds refuge with the tight-knit community that surrounds Marcel, including his dog Laika.
Kaurismäki’s second French-language film is a teal-tinged masterpiece that raises serious political issues, with a languorous, wry bow neatly wrapped around it.
As part of the celebration, local family business Koivu will be selling some sweet and savoury snacks using Finnish ingredients and recipes. They will be set up in the cafe area, so come and say hei!
Pre-orders are now closed. Any pre-orders already made will be available for collection at the cinema from 1.30pm on Sunday 8th December. There will be some items for sale on the day, but these are first come, first serve!
Along with Le Havre, we will be screening Dogs Have No Hell (10mins), a short film that Kaurismäki made as part of Nicolas McClintock's project Ten Minutes Older, featuring work from fifteen different directors. Contrary to the title, there are unfortunately no dogs featured in this film.
This screening is in association with local event organisers and film production company Milk Teeth Productions.
Details
“It is seductively funny, offbeat and warm-hearted, like the rest of his films, but with a new heartfelt urgency on the subject of northern Europe's attitude to desperate refugees from the developing world.”
Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
“Kaurismäki manages to capture mankind in a brilliant way with just one shot or one gesture that opens an entire backstory of a character.”
Alice Rohrwacher, The Criterion Collection
“Kaurismäki uses cinema to envision a world in which the love of humanity overcomes borders, even the one between life and death.”
Michael Sicinski, The Criterion Collection