Moscow, Belgium

If you want a little foreign flavor added to your usual movie-going experience, consider seeing "Moscow Belgium|" in the near future. It is one of the best small films to come along so far this year.

The movie begins simply enough – a harried mother (Barbara Sarafian as Matty) backs into a truck in the supermarket parking lot. The owner of the truck (Jurgen Delnaet as Johnny) steps down. Fingerpointing and verbal abuse of course follows; only the eventual arrival of the police keeps the situation from becoming any uglier than it is.

Later that day we see Matty bathing; her daughter interrupts her to say there is a phone call from Johnny. Matty blows this off, and despite the continued advances of Johnny Matty remains stoically immune to his attentions.

We find that Matty's art-professor husband has moved out to carry on an affair with one of his students. Matty would like a normal life; her kids, her husband and her lack of funds frustrates her. And now there is this persistent guy whom she tells she doesn't need any more things in her life.

But we can see that Johnny will not be shaken off as easily as that. So the balance of the movie essentially prances about the central theme; should she accept Johnny in her life or have her husband come back into her life?

Barbara Sarafian is a wonderful actress, playing straight-faced to all – her colleague at work, her suitors and her children. She convincingly conveys Matty's worn-down attitude; and according to her (interview at buzzine.com/2009/01/christophe-van-rompaey-interview) "you suspect that there is a bomb inside of her".

And so I leave it to you to see how Matty handles all her concerns and decides which is the best course for what probably be the rest of her life. I don't think you will for a second be disappointed with the outcome.

Three stars.

Screenwriters, Jean-Claude Van Rijckeghem and Pat van Beirs have written a script that gives us close scrutiny at a woman's character and how it slowly changes or bends as circumstances arise. They have done it well.

It is more often than not that one wold find character development like this in a "foreign" film. Maybe that is changing, and that would be a good thing. If we can trust that our audiences will watch characters interacting with one another, without the need for some cinematic shock, i.e. action, suspense, sex, etc, then we may have more movies like this in the U.S. I have nothing against action, suspense, sex, etc, it's just that we could use more movies that depict character studies.

Director, Christophe Van Rompaey takes the reins and nicely dramatizes this story about a domestic life, while holding back any temptation to rush.

Very nice performances are given by Barbara Sarafian, Jurgen Delnaet and Johan Hildenbergh.

Barbara Sarafian, Jurgen Delnaet, Johan Heldenbergh, Anemone Valcke, Sofia Ferri , Julian Borsani, Bob De Moor, Jits Van Belle and Griet van Damme

You can hardly get more unpretentious than what you have here.

It's elementary clear how this is made, the devices that were used, and the effective it is and this is a good thing, in this case.

Check how the story and the mood is built right from the first scene. A minor traffic accident in a parking lot, that begins an argument. The scene starts as a piece of ordinary life, goes on as a light word-based argument, and finishes in a funny mood. Notice how every word and sentence in this argument is designed to cause an immediate impression without becoming dark or even heavy. That's the mood of the film. It lives on daily lives, it introduces deviating elements, that usually work out funny (the introduction of the lesbian theme was a great moment, among others)and with this mood evokes a sense of tenderness, what audiences may call "romance". The fact that the people who conceived this were able to synthesize this so economically and efficiently in one single scene is really impressive. This is one of the most meaningful first scenes i've seen.

I place this with 3 recent comedies that among many differences share a common sense of unpretentiousness, something that admits cinema is a piece of entertainment, that things have to be successful and effective in the eye, and through the dialogues, IN the world of the film, without meaning that the film should moralize or search for superior answers to common themes. These films i saw recently are "Juno", "Little miss Sunshine" and this one. Of the 3, this was the best, to me. It deviates from Hollywood canons even more than the other two, and that may be the reason.

It works for the performances, acting, which were surprisingly direct and grasping. I know very few or nothing about Belgian (or equivalent) acting traditions, but i am guessing (may be wrong) that this is inserted in a longer tradition of acting with fluidity, what some may consider "natural" acting. I wouldn't dare to mistake this for "real" life, as i suppose many spectators will, but this is a really well shaped cartoon world. Representation, that's what this is... the guy goes often to Italy, and speaks Italian many times, a language that in some of its golden moments in art is meant to "sound" instead of really "mean".

Some cityscapes of the small town of Moscow, Belgium, is great. There was a competent eye for the city here as well.

My opinion: 4/5

(FantasPorto 2009)

http://www.7eyes.wordpress.com

What starts out as a standard fender bender in a car park at a super market in the town of Ghent,ends up in a chance meeting of two damaged souls. Matty,who's husband,Werner has left her for a much younger woman,and has yet to come to terms about it,backs her car into a truck, driven by Johnny,who at first verbally lashes out at her,then offers to fix her car. Things begin to happen to this mis-matched pair. Barbara Sarafian turns in a winning performance as Matty,who is bitter & cynical of all men. She works at the local post office,where she is subjected to the more sordid details of the love life of her co-worker. Matty has three children by her (failed)marriage to Werner (Peter,played by a somewhat myopic Julian Borsani...Fien,played by Sofia Ferri--a delight...and her 17 year older daughter,Vera,played by Anemone Valcke,who should have had more screen time). Johnny,played by a (at first)brutish looking Jurgen Delnael,is another example of a man who couldn't control his temper,as a result of out of control alcoholism (but has taken the pledge,and only drinks water,even at a bar),but has tried to get his life back together & takes a real fancy to Matty. Johan Hildenbergh (who absolutely shone on screen in Marlene Goris's film of 'Antonia's Line')plays Matty's swinish art teacher ex-husband, Werner,who just can't be trusted,by Matty (Werner's mobile phone goes off at always the wrong time by his live in lover,who we never see on screen,but we know she's got Werner by the short & curly's). A mixed bag of emotions (rage to tenderness)make this a tempest of a relationship,which makes for a film that varies from funny to harrowing to pathos. Check it out (if you don't mind a film that is mostly spoken in the Flemish dialect of Dutch). Not rated by the MPAA, this film contains raunchy language,nudity & adult situations.

The movie sets place in Moscow, a small Belgian town district of Ghent. Matty and Johnny, 2 very common people, collide and the movie starts. From that point on a romantic story starts with a lot of humor and hilarious scenes with genius dialogs which are rare in Belgian movies these days.

This movie separates itself from all other Belgian movies by placing the characters up front and their story. That makes the movie so realistic and gives it a personal touch to the audience so they can relate with them. Also the typical dialect of the population in Ghent gives another aspect to this movie. Whereas most Belgian movies are situated in Antwerp this movie takes viewers to another location and another atmosphere which is a welcome relieve for a lot of viewers. I'm giving it 9 out of 10 stars!