contemporary world cinema for salmon arm and kelowna |
|
 |
|
In Bruges
Country: UK/Belgium
|
|
Irish playwright Martin McDonagh, in his film debut, has fashioned an endlessly surprising, very dark, human comedy. After a botched killing in London, Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson) are sent by their crime-boss, Harry (Ralph Fiennes) for two weeks to the storybook Flemish city of Bruges in Belgium, to cool their heels. Very much out of place amongst the Gothic architecture, canals, and cobbled streets, the two hitmen fill their days living the lives of tourists. These two are opposites. The younger hitman, Ray, hates the place. He is a hothead who sees no reason to be anywhere but in his hometown, Dublin; the other, Ken, older, gentler, more curious, buys a guidebook and declares that beautiful Bruges is the best-preserved medieval city in Belgium. He sees this hiatus as an opportunity for a vacation as he finds his mind and soul being expanded by the beauty and serenity of the city. But the longer they stay, awaiting Harry's call, the more surreal their experience becomes, as they find themselves in weird encounters with locals, tourists, violent medieval art, a dwarf American actor, Dutch prostitutes and a potential romance for Ray. He hooks up with the fetching Chloe (Clemence Poesy, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) who may have some dark secrets of her own. Eventually, Ray and Ken's vacation becomes a life-and-death struggle with surprisingly emotional consequences. "In his feature debut, McDonagh has made a remarkable first film... ." rogerebert.com |
|
