A Finnish director breathes new spirit into the primal properties of French cinema which have been missing for a long time. Le Havre is intelligent, naivistic, intimate, and minimalist. It gives out a strong sense of a better world and its possibilities – the conviction of Renoir and Becker which was so natural that it needed not to be said out loud. The vast beauty of Aki Kaurismäki’s second French film lies in its themes which are connected to one another: dignity, solidarity, aging, death. - Peter von Bagh (2012, 232, my translation) Aki Kaurismäki’s Le Havre (2011 a film about an unlikely encounter between a French intellectual shoeshine and an African refugee has become more poignant and important than five years ago when it was first released. Its relevance has only sharpened. To some, the film might even seem foreshadowing. The growing amount of people trying to get into Europe from the crises in the Middle East has exploded in the past year or so. There is a collision of two forms of human suffering: an ever worsening economic downfall in Europe and people fleeing immediate physical danger. Despite the grimness of the social situation that Le Havre tackles, Kaurismäki’s film is far from being bleak and pessimistic. It is, in fact, quite far from realism, allegedly the natural companion of pessimism, too. At its heart, Le Havre is a film fable, creating its own stylistic program and unique universe typical for the director. The bleak subject matter and the poetic style, working as counterpoints, compensate and resonate with one another in a profound fashion, thus enhancing the film’s moral core which carries the core ideals of utmost importance to Kaurismäki. Following Kaurismäki’s doctrine of narrative, Le Havre is an extremely simple film. Its protagonist is Marcel Marx ( André Wilms a retired writer now working as a shoeshine because it is the profession.
If you’re a Simpsons fan, you probably already know that Harry Shearer has left the show. If you don’t, well, sorry to break the bad news But yes, confirmed today after some rumours floating around yesterday that the voice of some of the most poignant and important characters is leaving. Today has been roller coaster. I went through a lot of emotions, of which I can only compare to Dr Hibbert’s description of death here: (season 2, episode 11) Dr. Hibbert: You can expect to go through five stages. The first is denial. Homer: No way, because I’m not dying! Dr. Hibbert: Second is anger. Homer: Why you little! Dr. Hibbert: After that comes fear. Homer: What’s after fear? What’s after fear?! Dr. Hibbert: Bargaining. Homer: Doc, you gotta get me outta this. I’ll make it worth your while. Dr. Hibbert: Finally acceptance. Homer: Well, we all gotta go sometime. Dr. Hibbert: Mr. Simpson, your progress astounds me. Yep, I’ve finally and reluctantly accepted it. He’s 71 years old, I guess we better let the man retire. The future of the worlds longest running show is now terminal, the end has become real, it won’t last forever. So we all must look back and remember the show when it was young and beautiful and full of life at the top of it’s game. Sharp witted characters and quot;s and jokes that implant themselves in your memory. I remember when Marcia Wallace passed away, the enduring voice of Edna, I had to take a week off work. I’m still not over it to tell you the truth. I think about Troy and Lionel sometimes and get upset over the loss of Phil Hartman. It’s painful but this here it is, the final nail in the coffin character-wise. Mr Burns, Ned Flanders, Kent Brockman, Dr Hibbert, Lenny, Reverend Lovejoy, Otto, Kang, Principal Skinner, Smithers are only a small few of the characters losing their voice. Shearer did so many voices it would seem the family will just be talking to.
Download Now