Le Havre on TV
Le Havre
By Aki Kaurismäki 2010

1h33min   André Wilms, Kati Outinen, Jean-Pierre Darroussin

Synopsis

Marcel Marx, ex-writer and renowned bohemian, voluntarily exiled himself to the port city of Le Havre where his honorable but unpaid job as a shoe shiner gave him the feeling of being closer to the people by serving them. He has mourned his literary ambition and leads a satisfying life in the triangle formed by the local bistro, his job and his wife Arletty, when fate suddenly puts an immigrant child from black Africa in his path.

When at the same time, Arletty falls seriously ill and has to take to his bed, Marcel must once again fight against the cold wall of human indifference with his only weapons, his innate optimism and the stubborn solidarity of the inhabitants of his neighborhood. He confronts the blind mechanics of a Western rule of law, represented by the noose of the police which tightens more and more on the young refugee boy. It's time for Marcel to shine his shoes and show his teeth.