Moscow, Belgium

Moscow, Belgium is a wonderful little film that I already had on my Netflix list. It is playing at only one theater in NYC and I never thought that it would come to my part of town. But one of the local cinemas booked it for a few shows a day and I was lucky enough to catch it today.

The film is very well directed by Christophe Van Rompaey. The story takes place in Moscow, a small section in Ghent, Belgium. 41 year old Matty (Barbara Sarfian) has her hands full. She works at the local post office. Her husband Werner (Johann Heidenbergh) is in the midst of a mid-life crisis and is living with his 22 year old former student Gail (we never see her). She has three kids who are all feeling growing pains. So all she needs is for a truck to ram into the trunk of her car. The truckdriver Johnny (Jurgen Delnaet) and Matty really go out each other with insults. But Johnny seems smitten with Matty and tries to win her over. And I didn't mention that Johnny is 29 years old.

This is a terrific slice of life film that is very natural and very real. All of the characters are very believable. We know people like this. There are a number of surprises so I won't say much about the plot. Van Rompaey is a talent to watch. All of the acting is great with Sarfian a real standout.

This film will not play at many theaters but I urge that you seek it out when it comes out on DVD.

Edit: I should say this film is alive with life and the possibilities that it offers us!