Quesnel Film Club presents Le Havre, Jan. 12, 6:30 p.m., Carib Theatre. The movie is Finnish and has received critical acclaim including official selection for the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival. No other contemporary filmmaker manages to blend deadpan, ironic humour with social commentary in quite the same manner as Finnish master Aki Kaurismaki.
In Le Havre, the moody, retro ambiance of the film’s titular Norman port city enhances a tidy plot that blends the noir-like elements of a Jean-Pierre Melville film with the gentle humanism of Jean Renoir at his best.
Atmospheric, quiet and completely assured, Kaurismaki employs these diverse elements to a highly contemporary story about illegal refugees, a subject of immediate relevance in today’s Europe.
The film circles around Marcel Marx, a warm, aging bohemian artist who has retreated to the French port city of Le Havre and taken up work as a shoeshine man – a profession with a limited future, as everyone seems to be wearing running shoes.
He is married to a woman with a heart of gold and, despite their poverty and limited means, he finds joy in their local neighbours, all of whom seem as if they have emerged intact from a 1930s movie. One day, Marcel befriends Idrissa, a young African immigrant hoping to make his way to England in a shipping container with other illegals.
Marcel is determined to extend a helping hand to the wide-eyed boy, but the law, in the form of Inspector Monet, is equally determined to stand in his way.
An intricate dance of hide-and-seek ensues, Marcel using all his ingenuity to hide Idrissa while the nefarious Monet keeps hot on the trail.
Kaurismaki’s humour is always inclusive, insightful and intelligent, here deployed to assist what is in effect a realistic fairy tale.
As with all fairy tales, surprises abound along the way.
Tickets for Le Havre are $9 (regular admission) and $7 (seniors) with film memberships included in the price.
For information on Quesnel Film Club, call 250-747-7422 or 250-747-3979 or check out the web site at www.quesnelfilmclub.ca.