Homecoming

Many things in life tend to come in pairs, although they arent necessarily mutually
exclusive in nature. Rather, all of the parts sum up to a greater whole that drives so many of the
dichotomies that define humankind. Life cannot exist without death, the past cannot exist
without the present, and dreams cannot exist without reality. In his film Le Havre, Aki
Kaurismki utilizes mise-en-scne, sound, and camerawork to recreate and comment on the
importance of many of these prominent dualities by suggesting that Arletty has passed and only
exists in Marcels mind in the ending sequence. This entire segment further exists to comment on
humankinds intrinsic need for a way back home.
The overarching dichotomy presented in this sequence is that of sight versus sound, the
former of which is supported by mise-en-scne, the broadest instance of everything that appears
before the camera. This can be broken down into several aspects that are of particular importance
to this sequence, notably the cinematography of color in accordance with the use of props and
costume. From the very moment Marcel steps into the hospital room, the audience is hit with a
wave of surrounding blues on the walls. Blue tends to be associated with both serenity and
somberness, a unique blend that ultimately culminates in a bittersweet feeling. The
overabundance of blue suggests that the events that are about to unfold will most likely be ones
of a tragic nature, especially since Arletty is nowhere to be seen. As if on cue, a nurse comes to
retrieve and lead Marcel through long, lightly tinted corridors of blue, only to be taken by
another nurse who leads him through even more darker blues, to finally arrive at the doctors
room that is also covered in blue. The audience expects the worst as the doctors begin to speak,
preparing to hear about Arlettys passing, until we are interrupted by Marcel himself.
However, this interruption is not provided by Marcels voice. Instead, he turns to see
Arletty wearing a distinct, bright yellow dress that almost illuminates her presence even though
she is tucked away in the corner of the room. Yellow, in contrast to blue, has connotations of
warmth, a feeling that is commonly associated with the sun. Indeed, Arletty is the sun to Marcel,
and not only does her yellow dress emphasize her importance to Marcel, it also acts as a halo of
light that gives Arletty an angelic look. Appropriate, especially if she were in fact dead and
became an angel to guide Marcel back home, a safe haven to most people. This use of a warm,
inviting yellow becomes the center of focus despite the domineering blues of sorrow.
Besides the duality of warm versus cool colors, yellow itself also comes in
complimentary pairs. As a foil to Arlettys yellow dress, the yellow flowers that Marcel brings to
the hospital act as a manifestation of Arlettys presence. The first thing Marcel sees when he
enters the room is the package that he had wrapped for Arletty, which supposedly contained her
yellow dress. Before he follows the nurse out of the room, he places the yellow flowers next to
the package on Arlettys bed, a gesture that is similar to the adorning of flowers on a beloveds
tombstone. These flowers are never seen again for the rest of the sequence, including the part
when Marcel and Arletty arrive home. Yet, we see Marcel carrying the package home with him,
which means he had time to return to the hospital room to retrieve it. If Arletty was truly alive,
why would Marcel only bring home the package and not the flowers, if he had brought them for
her in the first place? If she was truly cured, there would be no reason for Marcel to even have
the package, nor would there be a reason to leave the flowers at the hospital because she no
longer needed to stay there. The only logical reason for this anomaly would be that Arletty had

indeed passed away. Marcel brought home the unwrapped package containing her yellow dress,
but not the yellow flowers because he no longer needed them. The presence of Arletty in the
ending sequence is all a figment of Marcels imagination.
Another point to notice about the mise-en-scne is the motif of flowers, also a duality, in
this sequence. While the yellow flowers that Marcel brings are a symbol of Arlettys death, a
specific incident in the entire space continuum, the white cherry blossoms at the end of the
sequence are a symbol of everlasting life and death. The yellow flowers have already been cut,
meaning they are essentially dead and are an appropriate stand in for Arlettys physical presence.
She no longer physically exists in this world. On the other hand, the cherry blossoms bloom as
an entire tree. It still has roots, it still thrives, and despite their short lifespan, the blossoms will
always return the following year without fail. This recurring cycle of life and death acts as a
metaphor for what has come and gone, in addition to memory and remembrance. Arletty may be
gone, but her spirit will always remain with Marcel until the time comes for him to pass on as
well. In this particular instance, the tree is shown to be blooming on a sunny day, emphasizing
the presence of life due to the immortality of Arlettys soul despite the desolate environment and
tragedy that came with mortal death. Thus, unlike the yellow flowers that signify permanent
physical death, the cherry blossoms act as a symbol of hope that is often coupled with life. Even
though Marcel will likely mourn Arlettys passing throughout the year, similar to how the
blossoms are dormant for three seasons, there will be times when her memories transcend
sorrow, just as how the blossoms bloom in the spring.
All of these aspects of mise-en-scne work to convey the subtleties in whats displayed
on the screen physically versus whats implied. However, none of this would be as effective
without the simultaneous use of music and spoken word, which are together the opposite of
sight, yet incidentally contradict each other in the sequence itself. The bland, monotonous speech
of the characters is highly contrasted against the sweeping, beautiful orchestral score that drowns
out this speech as the nurse leads Marcel to see Dr. Becker. This music continues until Marcel
reaches the room, when it finally crescendos out. Suddenly, we hear the doctors speak very
loudly and clearly, as if to snap the audience out of a trance and to heighten the tension of what is
to come. We expect them to seal Arlettys fate, but before they finish speaking, the music
crescendos back in as Marcel turns his head to see Arletty standing in the corner of the room. The
music is supposedly non-diegetic and therefore sourced outside of the world of the film, but the
fact that it only plays when Marcel is experiencing extreme emotional build up and or release
suggests that perhaps the music is playing inside of Marcels head, and is therefore diegetic.
Another detail that supports this notion is the fact that Marcel does not speak for the
entire ending sequence. Not only does he remain quiet in the presence of the nurses and doctors,
he doesnt even respond to Arletty when she tells him she has somehow been miraculously
cured, suggesting that she isnt physically there to speak to. Instead, the background music serves
as a window into Marcels head and is a stand-in for any words Marcel might have uttered. The
swooping, romantic music is indicative of Marcels anticipation and pleasure upon seeing
Arletty. It tunes out other peoples words, even the doctors who are trying to convey crucial
information, and ends up taking over the world of the film. By pitting spoken word that is only as
good as the language it is executed in against an orchestral score that is wordless and universally
accessible, Kaurismki separates reality from the world of Marcels imagination.

Not only does the audience understand Marcels emotions and state of mind via the
music, the role of the gaze, aided by camera movement, is equally important in suggesting that
the ending sequence is biased towards Marcels point of view. In addition to not speaking,
Marcel appears to be easily distracted and doesnt focus on anything for very long unless the
object in question is related to Arletty. For instance, Marcel focuses intently on the unwrapped
package when he walks into the first hospital room, as indicated by the long, stable close-up.
However, he doesnt care to look at the first nurse that comes to retrieve him even when she
speaks to him directly. To continue, Marcel only looks briefly at the second nurse, and ends up
gazing in an unknown direction as he is led to Becker. Both of these encounters are filmed via
unmotivated long shots or medium shots at most, suggesting a certain distant relationship
between the characters onscreen. This is different from the low angle, motivated medium closeup shot of Marcel alone as he walks. Despite the closer look at his face, the shot used renders it
difficult to determine exactly where Marcel is looking. In addition, the lack of the second nurse
in this entire shot emphasizes how absorbed Marcel is in his own world, further cued by the
music. When he finally sees the doctors, his attention is only directed towards them for a couple
of seconds before he turns his gaze to actively focus on Arletty, which is emphasized by the
extreme movement of the camera that switches rapidly from a medium shot to an extreme closeup. Marcel sees nothing but Arletty in this instance and doesnt care to focus on anything else.
Even on the taxi ride home, Marcel cant help but turn to watch Arlettys profile in silence. The
difference between these shots allows the audience to see Marcel passively versus actively
engage in what is in front of him, thus providing insight regarding what is most important to him
while questioning Arlettys presence and the reliability of his vision.
However, its interesting to notice that there is no more music after Marcel and Arletty
leave the hospital. In fact, there are no sounds besides the ambient noises of birds chirping and
the car engine running, and the blues return to the sequence in the form of a blue taxi car and the
blue picket fence that lines Marcel and Arlettys home. Yet, the camera continues to be motivated
by tracking the characters movements as they get out of the car and walk towards their home
with nobody around. They appear to be living in an alternate dimension that only exists in
Marcels mind, one in which Arletty is still alive but is void of other inhabitants. Incidentally,
when Arletty delivers the concluding line of the film, Look Marcel, the cherry tree blooms,
Marcel reacts actively for the first time to spoken word by turning his head, as if he can finally
respond to her because he believes she is truly there. The connection between the two, along with
the imagery of cherry blossoms blooming, conveys a feeling of hope despite the questionable
circumstances. The possibility of Arletty being dead is irrelevant at this point because Marcel and
Arletty have finally reunited and returned home, an abstract destination that many people
search for and are not always fortunate enough to find.
To continue on this thought, it is important to note that the closing shot of the cherry
blossoms is a long, stable shot, a type of camera shot that was only used to show Marcels focal
point during the entire ending sequence. Furthermore, the cherry blossom is extremely out of
place considering the environment. All of the buildings are rustic, uneven, old, and worn down,
yet there is a healthy cherry tree blooming right in front of Marcels home. Its almost like a
beacon of light amidst all of the rubbish, a parallel to Arlettys yellow dress and how it
symbolizes Marcels perception of heras his beacon of light and hope. The fact that Arletty
drew Marcels attention to the tree immediately upon returning home, then, can be interpreted as
her telling him that she will always be his home even though she no longer physically exists. Just

as how Marcel himself helped guide Idrissa back to his mother, Arletty has guided Marcel back
home and will continue to live on in his heart.