98% Le Havre

Saw the Kaurismäki movie Le Havre last night. Besides being set in industrial France, I found it differed hardly an iota from his films set among the down-trodden in industrial Finland. Unfortunately, despite the low key comedy and the sometimes charming art direction, I think his last few works have been rather unsatisfying rehashes of his standard cinematic elements (funny folk music, working class bars, klutzy and ironic agents of social control such as police and lawyers, hapless characters), without being fresh enough, or interesting enough, to merit his audience's attention. I hope he breaks out of his rut in whatever later films he makes. If you've never seen a Kaurismäki film, you might enjoy this minimally, but his previous work is better. Two in particular which encompass his worldview in a more interesting fashion are The Match Factory Girl and The Man without a Past.

November 18, 2011

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/le_havre_2011/

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