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Written by Lewis Bazley

An African boy finds an unlikely ally in the form of a Bohemian-turned-shoeshine pensioner and a temporary home in the titular Normandy port in Aki Kaurismaki’s frustrating comedy-drama.

Marcel Marx (André Wilms) is an ex-author sleepwalking into old age in Le Havre, filling his days with the passing trade of shining shoes, the camaraderie of his local bar and the devotion of his dutiful but ailing wife Arletty. A chance encounter with Gabonese illegal immigrant Idrissa (Blondin Miguel) disrupts Marcel’s comfortable routine but before long Marcel’s enlisting his neighbours and angering the local gendarmes as he keeps the boy hidden and plans Idrissa’s escape.

It’s a premise full of promise, both dramatic and comic. How will Marcel keep Idrissa safe in such a small community? What kind of scrapes will they get into together? Will the youngster help the old man rediscover his joie de vivre?...

According to André Wilms—the star of Le Havre—during his hilarious stream of consciousness Q&A at a screening for the Toronto International Film Festival, director Aki Kaurismäki decided it was time to make a comedy/fairy tale. The Finn had created so many “desperate” films that a change was needed. And what better setting than France to bring it to life, a country who’s film history is held dear and apparently seen as dead by the director, (sentiments Wilms agreed with only half-jokingly). You’ll notice subtle nods to an older style with a lingering camera, exaggerated acting, and theatrical vibe, but that’s not to say the film itself is old fashioned. No, the color is vibrant, the characters humorous—if not overtly so—and the hard-boiled noir is subverted just enough to keep the whole light and airy.

It is Wilms’ Marcel Marx who we meet in the beginning.