Aki Kaurismäki seems
unable to make a film that isn’t described by critics as “deadpan.” Even the
back of the DVD for Kaurismäki’s latest, Le Havre (out recently from the
redoubtable Criterion Collection), can’t resist calling it a “charming, deadpan
delight.” But I think that the D-word – which usually suggests a detached,
unemotional humor (cf. the work of Kaurismaki’s friend and contemporary, Jim
Jarmusch) – isn’t exactly apt in the case of Le Havre. Barely concealed under
its poker face is a wistful utopian dream.
