AboveDeepBuggy
Some things I liked some I did not.
Livestonth
I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible
Gary
The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.
stephanlinsenhoff
Angèle is a young woman, trying to renew contact with her son, living with his grandparents. She is, after serving some years in prison, conscious of the difficulty to be a mother. A good mother. She is the reason for her husbands death. But, as she says: an accident. With her not easy background she meets the shy fisherman Tony to work for him (in mind a marriage that makes possible to get her child - be near him. The grandparents have the custody. Her son, having not seen his mother during prison-time is cautious. Angèle must prove the judge in charge of her case her capability as a mother and married woman. Angèle's background, the shy Tony, his suspicious mother and her sons grandparents are serious difficulties waiting for her to take. But: now and then polarities are not a hinder but the help as only way of understanding when nothing is left and the base for marriage. Yohan asks Tony if muscles bites. The answer: the three drive to the beach for the answer of the boy's question. His question can be regarded as metaphor. Both Angèle and Tony are closed as clams. But sometimes: if time and space permits polarities to decide can polarities be of help for each other. Clams do not bite
sidneywhitaker-1
The Director is too obsessed with her theme of hard-done-by/unfortunate young woman, and the pathos of her aggrieved face, even when her struggle is only with pedalling a bicycle uphill-—(overlong shots of this), as emblematic of her hardship!The first shot in the film: Angèle engaged in a certain "activity" up against a wall, with a young man who gives her a Chinese Action Man, after pulling up his jeans, and is never seen again. She appears as a sullen tart, whose unsavoury past is only later hinted at by fragments of information. She is authorised to leave a Young Offenders' hostel when she tells the officer she has got herself a job (helping Tony, the charitable fisherman whose mother is recently widowed).Her entirely graceless, furtive behaviour is further displayed when we find she has just stolen a bicycle; then she tries to steal a smart dress from a shop, and maintains she has to go and collect her son. This proves to be a charming 10 year old who has naturally become distanced while she was in prison, and she is fearful/embarrassed about confronting him. Apart from a violent demo by fishermen v. police, everyone is obliging: Angèle remains sullen and aggrieved.In spite of all, there is a happy ending! (She marries Tony, the boy is a page, ex-in-laws are reconciled.)The Interviews with star and director prove a further disappointment: trying to reply, haltingly, in English, to very banal questions is a daunting task; it only reveals their mutual satisfaction, as if the theme and the beautiful face were sufficient to carry the story through. (275 words)
richwgriffin-227-176635
I was so surprised; I really wanted to love this movie. I absolutely love French cinema - it is my favorite country for films, with Spain in a close second. However, I can sum up why I hated this movie in two words: Gregory Gadebois. I just hated his character, his acting, and was annoyed every time he was on screen. I didn't want these two to even be friends. I like slice of life films. "Le Havre" is a new all-time favorite. I wonder, too, if my dislike of fishing also may have impacted my feelings about this movie. I did stick with it. I loved Clotilde Hesme in "Love Songs" but she was dull in this movie. I also found the supporting characters quite dull and without any charm or interest. The editing was pedestrian. The camera-work didn't show me anything new. Watching someone ride their bicycle endlessly doesn't add any enjoyment to my life! The unerotic sex scene at the very beginning was not a good way to begin a movie! Usually, when I see French films I want to go to where the film was made, but this was definitely not the case with this graceless dull movie. I sincerely hope this will be Gregory Gadebois last movie; I could live with never seeing this particular "actor" (ahem) ever again!
Felix-28
I was hoping this film would be good and I wasn't at all disappointed. It was lovely.I saw Clotilde Hesme in Le fils de l'épicier, another little charmer. Her smile lit up the screen in that one, and it does the same in this one. She's an excellent actress. The acting is all good, actually. The story is simple, and predictable enough if you want to predict things, but it's very nicely told, with delightful understatement and restraint. The film is beautifully photographed, again with great restraint, so that the beauty of the northern sea and sky and the pale and subtle colours of the landscape are allowed to emerge and speak for themselves. The film doesn't pretend to be anything more than a simple romance. It certainly doesn't pretend to be great. But it is in fact very good.
