Strange Cargo

Film: Le Havre
Format: DVD from NetFlix on big ol’ television.

Up to this point, my one and only dealing with director Aki Kaurismaki was the strangely emotionless Ariel a couple of years ago. I didn’t hate that film, but I had a difficult time understanding what it was all about. I mean, I got the plot; I just didn’t understand why no one in the film expressed any emotion. Now with Le Havre, I’m seeing this as indicative of Kaurismaki’s style, because there’s not much in the way of facial expression in this film, either.

This is the story of Marcel Marx (Andre Wilms), a former bohemian author who was mildly successful back in the day. In the present day of the film, he has given up all of his artistic goals and pretensions and now makes a living shining shoes wherever he can—train stations, in front of stores, and down by the docks in the port city of Le Havre. One night a cargo container filled with illegals from somewhere in Africa. While they are being attended by the Red Cross, a young man named Idrissa (Blondin Miguel) walks out of the shipping container and runs away into the city.