Le Havre (2011)
87%RT Audience Score: 75%
Awards & Nominations: 15 wins & 34 nominations
Aki Kaurismäki’s deadpan wit hits a graceful note with Le Havre, a comedy/drama that’s sweet, sad, and uplifting in equal measure
Le Havre is a movie that will make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, despite its seemingly grim premise. Aki Kaurismaki’s direction is graceful and humanistic, and the film’s deliberate distance only serves to make it feel more real and close. It’s a crowd-pleaser that manages to be both archaic and contemporary, and it’s simply unmissable. Plus, who doesn’t love a good surprise ending?
Production Company(ies)
Films,onor Vera Films,
Distributor
NA
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
Gare SNCF, 12 rue Magellan, Le Havre, Seine- Maritime, France
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
Year of Release
2011
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:NA
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Language(s):French
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Streaming): Jul 31, 2012
Genre(s)
Comedy/Drama
Keyword(s)
starring André Wilms, Kati Outinen, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Elina Salo, Evelyne Didi, Pierre Étaix, directed by Aki Kaurismäki, written by Aki Kaurismäki, comedy, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Roger Ebert, Amy Taubin, Hannah McGill, Stanley Kauffmann, Derek Malcolm, Donald Clarke, Katherine McLaughlin, Kelly Jane Torrance, Daniel Green, Laura Hiros, Steve Erickson, producer Aki Kaurismäki, MPAA rating, shoeshiner, refugee, French (Canada), Marcel Marx, Arletty, Monet, Claire, Yvette, Doctor Becker
Worldwide gross: $12,959,706
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $17,061,425
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,767
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 1,860,570
US/Canada gross: $611,709
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $805,314
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,237
US/Canada opening weekend: $26,363
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $34,707
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,331
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): 3850000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $5,068,517
Production budget ranking: 1,875
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $2,729,396
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $9,263,512
ROI to date (est.): 119%
ROI ranking: 862
Kati Outinen – Arletty
Jean-Pierre Darroussin – Monet
Elina Salo – Claire
Evelyne Didi – Yvette
Pierre Étaix – Doctor Becker
Director(s)
Aki Kaurismäki
Writer(s)
Aki Kaurismäki
Producer(s)
Aki Kaurismäki
Film Festivals
Berlin, Cannes, Telluride
Awards & Nominations
15 wins & 34 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (97) | Top Critics (46) | Fresh (96) | Rotten (1)
Here is the sunniest film I’ve seen by Aki Kaurismaki, and he reveals a lot of sunshine inside for a director whose world is usually filled with deadpan losers.
January 7, 2020 | Rating: 4/4
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
TOP CRITIC
It’s pure Kaurismäki, a graceful, deeply humanist work, and very tough despite its limpid beauty…
August 27, 2019
Amy Taubin
Film Comment Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Le Havre is brought to life by its raw, hopeful humanity; it feels close and real despite its deliberate distance.
July 9, 2018
Hannah McGill
Sight & Sound
TOP CRITIC
We are so held by the film’s impact that its ending, surprise or not, is like a bonus.
June 19, 2013
Stanley Kauffmann
The New Republic
TOP CRITIC
The result is both charming and purposeful.
April 6, 2012 | Rating: 4/5
Derek Malcolm
London Evening Standard
TOP CRITIC
No other director could maintain this degree of optimism while telling such a superficially grim story.
April 5, 2012 | Rating: 4/5
Donald Clarke
Irish Times
TOP CRITIC
With beautifully framed and eye-catching composition, Kaurismäki carves out an optimistic and empathetic tale about humanity doing the right thing.
March 13, 2021 | Rating: 8.3/10
Katherine McLaughlin
VODzilla.co
This offbeat film is a crowd-pleaser.
January 4, 2019 | Rating: 3/4
Kelly Jane Torrance
Washington Examiner
Kaurismäki’s Le Havre is simply unmissable, a cine-literate treat that’s somehow simultaneously archaic and contemporary.
January 4, 2019 | Rating: 4/5
Daniel Green
CineVue
A great way to start your weekend. [Full review in Spanish]
March 22, 2018 | Rating: 4/5
Laura Hiros
Rincón de cine
“Le Havre” is far less measured, but it builds toward a lovely double ending.
March 5, 2018
Steve Erickson
Gay City News
Le Havre charmingly renews the old-fashioned belief in an ethic among the urban poor, one that sometimes rises to the challenge of mutual help across lines of race and nation. This sense of solidarity even crosses lines of cultural ambition.
January 9, 2018
Stuart Klawans
The Nation…
Plot
A shoeshiner in Le Havre tries to save a refugee in this sweet, sad, and uplifting comedy/drama.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
No goofy or funny or odd comments were found in the Fresh Kernels database for Le Havre.
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