Aki Kaurismaki's Le Havre is Finland's Oscar bid

Finland’s Oscar selection jury today announced Aki Kaurismaki’s Le Havre as the country’s official Oscar submission. After its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, Le Havre won the Fipresci prize and the special mention of the Ecumenical Jury. It was awarded best international film at the Munich Film Festival as it continues to rack up international honors. If Le Havre advances to become one of the five nominees, this will be Finland’s second trip to the Academy Awards — Kaurismaki’s film The Man Without a Past was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film in 2002.

Awards Daily reader Tero Heikkinen told us 10 days ago that Le Havre was poised to be Finland’s pony in this year’s race — since Kaurismaki has relaxed his attitude about participating. Tero translated this article outlining the background drama from Helsinki’s largest newspaper:

Academic Aki Kaurismäki has ended his personal Oscar-boycott that lasted for years. Le Havre is the favorite to be submitted from among the 25 Finnish feature films that have been released domestically from October 2010 through September 2011.

“We have asked the film’s distributor, and Le Havre is now allowed to be submitted”, says Chairman Tero Koistinen from the jury that selects the Finnish nominee.

Kaurismäki had imposed a “personal boycott” on the USA in the Spring of 2003. [in response to the reckless Bush misadventure in Iraq.]

“Since United States of America now has a Democratic President, and its military forces are being withdrawn from Iraq, there’s no longer a reason to boycott. I see no obstacle to submitting Le Havre if Finland chooses to do so”, Kaurismäki writes for Helsinki Sanomat.

Kaurismäki, 54, has previously avoided the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In the Fall of 2002 he agreed to submit The Man Without a Past in order to raise its profile for American distribution. The film was the first Finnish motion picture to be nominated in the category of Best Foreign Language Film, but Kaurismäki still refused to attend the ceremonies. The cultural minister at the time, Kaarina Dromberg begged the director to attend.

“We can not attend the Oscar ceremonies while United States is preparing to commit a criminal act towards humanity for shameless personal economic reasons”, Kaurismäki wrote to Academy in March 2003. The war in Iraq was just around the corner.

In the Fall of 2006 the headlines returned when his motion picture Lights in the Dusk was submitted by Finland without asking the director’s permission. A Kaurismäki subsequently refused to allow the submission and since the deadline had passed Finland was forced to have a no-show at the Oscars.

Sasha’s review from Cannes. Synopsis from ScreenDaily:

Shot with French dialogue, Le Havre is the story of a former author and well-known bohemian who has retreated from Paris to a voluntary exile in the port city of Le Havre. Now a shoe-shiner, he lives within the triangle of his favourite bar, his work and his wife, Arletty.

When Arletty is hospitalised, seriously ill, and an illegal immigrant boy from Africa needs his help, it is time for him to polish his shoes and reveal his teeth. ” ”I always preferred the version of the fairy tale where Little Red Riding Hood eats the wolf,” Kaurismäki said.