Overview
A dock worker's act of kindness leads to unexpected challenges and community support in a small French town.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- None
- deadpan
- melancholic
- gentle
- quiet evening
- reflective weekend
What critics said
Critics broadly praised Kaurismäki's graceful blend of deadpan comedy, melancholy, social compassion, and uplifting humanism.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Marcel's barroom friends and neighbors gradually help conceal Idrissa and support his escape from authorities.
Kaurismäki combines morose circumstances, understated acting, and gently comic timing while maintaining sympathy for everyman characters.
Idrissa's journey from Gabon and Marcel's efforts to get him to London place collective aid at the center of the story.
The Le Havre setting, character names, restrained compositions, and influences from Marcel Carné and other French filmmakers create a consciously classical texture.
Films like Le Havre, and why
The Other Side of Hope
shared deadpan humor, compassionate treatment of outsiders, and bittersweet humanism
The Visitor
shared working-class solidarity, understated comedy, and concern with migration and displacement
Local Hero
shared poetic social realism, eccentric community characters, and tenderness toward marginalized people
The Station Agent
shared minimalist comedy, working-class protagonists, and quietly hopeful moral outlook
Movie Details
- Director
- Aki Kaurismäki
- Release Date
- 2011-09-08
- Runtime
- 94 min
- Rating
- 7.0 / 10 (493)
Cast
- André Wilms
- Kati Outinen
- Jean-Pierre Darroussin
- Blondin Miguel
- Elina Salo
- Evelyne Didi
- Quoc Dung Nguyen
- François Monnié
- Roberto Piazza
- Pierre Étaix
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Le Havre about?
- In a weathered French port, a shoeshiner turns his small circle of neighbors into a refuge for a hunted teenage migrant while facing his wife's grave illness.
- What is Le Havre like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Le Havre as measured, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Le Havre violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in Le Havre.
- What did critics think of Le Havre?
- Critics broadly praised Kaurismäki's graceful blend of deadpan comedy, melancholy, social compassion, and uplifting humanism.
- Which films are like Le Havre?
- Films with a similar feel include The Other Side of Hope, The Visitor, Local Hero, and The Station Agent.
- How long is Le Havre?
- Le Havre runs 94 minutes.
- Where can I watch Le Havre?
- In United States, Le Havre is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
