Le Havre

This is a scene from Finnish director Aki Kaurismaki’s wise new film, which, among other things, discusses illegal immigration. As they discuss illegal immigration, the film’s protagonist, a former Bohemian and a shoeshine man, asks his friend, a “Chinese” immigrate himself:

Marcel: What do you think?
Chang: Hard to say, for I don't exist. (He then fishes out his ID card from his pocket and shows it to Marcel) Who's he?
Marcel: That's you, Chang.
Chang: I'm not Chang, not from China but from Vietnam. Came here 12 years ago atop a train. Paid eight years for an identity in the databases. I can enjoy social security and vote, if I want to. I support my family. I'm a happy man. But I'm not him. You can call me Chang, I'm used to it. Mediterranean has more birth certificates than fish. It's harder to deport a nameless person.