The life of the affable Marcel is a simple one. Living in the portside city of Le Havre, Marcel spends his days shining the shoes of the middle-class, before retiring to his local haunt for a nightcap on the way home to his beloved wife, Arletty. While his is not the life of a pauper, Marcel often finds it difficult to make ends meet, and when Arletty is taken ill, it feels like his simple world is caving in. But after a chance encounter with an illegal immigrant boy, Idrissa, Marcel feels his life has been restored to him: now his purpose is to protect his new protege from the watchful eye of the customs official, Monet…
