I just watched In
Bruges again. I kept wanting to pause it to go and make a cup of tea, and I
kept telling myself the tea could wait. You don’t leave a film of this quality
merely for the sake of slaking a thirst.
At the end I asked myself why it was so compelling, me being
the sort who likes to know why I feel the way I do about things. Well, it’s
quite simple really:
It has you unsure whether you should laugh, cry, be
horrified, or muse on the nature of life and the human condition. And it’s set
in a world so like this one that only occasionally do you realise you’re
actually in a parallel dimension.
I hope the Belgians accepted the few little jokes at their
expense with magnanimity. Bruges
really is rather beautiful.
2 comments:
Your description sounds interesting, I will watch it. Lately we've been sitting down to a BBC program called The Wrong Mans (yes, 'Mans') which is funny though doesn't exactly muse on the human condition (most TV doesn't I guess). It's also a comedy with a dose of violence – strange that mixture. Too silly for you, maybe. Actually when it comes to TV I'm really just a Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall fan.
On thinking about it, I've realised that 'In Bruges' isn't exactly a conventional black comedy, in that it doesn't generally treat the violence as a vehicle for levity. What it does is juxtaposes the sordid nature of the characters' occupations with both higher values and lighter moments. The one exception, maybe, is the scene near the end where Harry has to be as good as his word. But I won't spoil it; you'll make your own mind up.
Tell you what, though: it's still on my mind now, and a film that stays with you that long has to have something going for it.
I haven't a clue what's on the TV these days; it must be several months since I sat down and watched a programme. Maybe I'll get back into it once the winter closes in and there's a fire in the grate.
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