Vanessa Paradis, François Damiens and Valeria Bruni Tedeschi lead this charming, lovestruck comedy set in a port of northern France.

In a city filled with lonely yet longing people, no-one is invulnerable to love’s tender whims. When a crime boss finds himself besotted with a cashier at the local supermarket, and his daughter reveals she’s crushing on a boy, he can’t help but let the romantic wheels start turning. Elsewhere, a henchman’s heart slowly grows a-flutter for the town’s amateur musical-theatre aficionado.

Direct from its premiere at Cannes, the latest from French filmmaker Samuel Benchetrit (Dog, MIFF 2018) is a hugely entertaining tribute to poetry, theatre and art, and a sweet glimpse at the lives of isolated individuals in search of that missing spark. Joining Paradis (Knife + Heart, MIFF 2018), Damiens (The World Is Yours, MIFF 2018) and Bruni Tedeschi (Slack Bay, MIFF 2016) is JoeyStarr (Polisse, MIFF 2011), all of whom bring to life a story that balances sentimentality with comedy à la Ari Kaurismäki. Love Songs for Tough Guys reaffirms Benchetrit’s gift for empathising with the quirkier side of humanity.