MovieChat Forums > Le Havre (2011) Discussion > Kati Outinen horrible acting

Kati Outinen horrible acting


Is it only me who thinks Kati Outinen was like reading a script rather than acting. A laughable performance. Seriously I laughed at many times when she was speaking. One of the worst performance I have ever seen.
Even the main actor André Wilms was like a robot too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzoHC8MI8d8&feature=player_detailpage#t=34

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Every single actor in this movie gave me this impression. Especially Outinen and the kid playing Idrissa. This is partly due to the horrible dialogues.

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What if it was intentional?

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What would be the point then? To drag you away from the movie, rendering you unable to care for the characters? If that's it, then it surely worked for me.

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The acting seems wrong and out of place at first, but after you watch a couple of Kaurismäki's films, his directing style really grows into you. It's just so different from everything else that it's difficult at first to understand what to expect and how to interpret what's happening on the screen. Kaurismäki is a prime example of an acquired taste in the film world.

Kati Outinen did an excellent job in this film representing the pure form of Aki's style of directing. It's understandable if it feels out of place for someone who hasn't seen his other films.

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The first time I watched a Kaurismäki film, I thought for the first 10 minutes: what is this? Why are there such stilted dialogues, wooden acting, strange pauses?

But after those 10 minutes wore off, I had already "acquired" the taste of Kaurismäki: pure delight! "Le Havre" is my second Kaurismäki film, and I am amazed once again by the sublimeness that this director reaches.

Anyone who is not able to understand Kati Outinen or any of the characters needs a lot of relearning: of oneself, of life, of cinema. They should watch a lot of Iranian cinema and of Kaurismäki.

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shait on purpose is what we call indie games

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It's how Kaurismäki always directs his actors. It's a style you might not appreciate, but it's perfect for his minimalist film language in general.

Listen to the river sing sweet songs
to rock my soul

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Agree about Outinen, although I don't know how much of that was just due to the language. She was a curious choice for the role - I guess he or his backers wanted a Finnish actor?

I thought Wilms turned in a fine performance, though.

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You havent seen a lot of AK's films. Its clear to me that you have zero knowledge of his tone and pacing. If you would, you wouldnt be complaining about it in such an ignorant manner. Please educate yourself. What people call "cold" is in fact something else that you couldnt see. Not everybody is Kazan or Stanislavski but some are more Bresson than others. If you "get" this quote i will be impressed.

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Not everybody is Kazan or Stanislavski but some are more Bresson than others.
Bresson, with a sense of humor.

What can be asserted without evidence can also be dismissed without evidence.

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Kati Outinen is one of the actors who has the most experience working with Aki Kaurismäki. His style is always to portray as little emotions in the dialogue as possible. It always goes beyond comedy portions. And Outinen has always been one of the bests to portray that style.
I am not saying that it's a good way to make movies, but it is intentional. It should sound like she is reading it straight from the script.

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Jean-Pierre Darroussin is someone you haven't worked with before, but he seems an actor who is a perfect fit for your world.

Yes, he was lucky. That was his only chance to survive and have a career, with me. To be honest, I dislike overacting to the extreme that I don't allow acting at all.

So how do you work with your actors on set?

If needed, I will act in front of them, to show them how they should act. If that's not needed, I will just tell them "more" or "less," and it's usually less. Casting for me is hiring the right actors so normally I don't have to direct at all, which is good for a lazy man.


This is one of the interviews with Aki.

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I felt weird about that too. But after reading these replies and reading that most of the Finnish dialog in his films is hyper-correct literary language, which is rarely spoken in real life (from the trademark section) I think its pretty cool

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