Friday, May 29, 2009

Aanrijding in Moscou (Moscow, Belgium)


What a nice, unpretentious, uplifting, enjoyable movie this is and on top, was a huge unexpected surprise as has a few very sweet and nice lesbian interest moments. You cannot not miss this Christophe Van Rompaey debut film that I will define as a great Belgian masterpiece that has a little drama, a little comedy and a lot of romance done with the most unpretentious production values that totally fits the realistic style of this great story. This is the kind of movie that gives you hope that everything will be all right no matter what you could be living today in the negative or so-so side of life. Absolutely great!

The film is about Matty, a forty something mother of three that her husband left her for one of his younger art students about five (or so) months ago. Since the very first scene at a very impersonal and cold supermarket you can tell that she has totally forgotten about herself as her appearance and behavior denotes total abandon. But when she and her younger ones leave the supermarket, her car hits a huge yellow truck at the parking lot. This fortuitous incident will change her life forever and for the best as she will meet Johnny; you have to see the rest of the story that with great rhythm and normal pace will take into one lovely romance full of real straight forward people, as we have to remember that this is an European movie and very civilized people are portrayed, so this is not a sugary romance at all. This is what many could wish romance should be in real life and portrayed in films.

There is one particular scene that I found hilarious and made me jump from my seat yelling: Bravo!! (Which of course I never do…). It will spoil a little the movie, but I want to tell you – if you do not want to spoil the movie, please DO NOT READ WHAT FOLLOWS AND JUMP TO THE NEXT PARAGRAPH. All the characters are having lunch, Matty at the head of the table, Johnny on one side, the husband in the other side, the two younger ones and at the other end, the older daughter Vera. It is a family moment and there is one guest that hasn’t arrived yet, Vera’s boyfriend that is going to meet Matty for the first time. Johnny and the husband start to discuss and to raise their voices, Matty asks them to stop so they can eat in peace. The doorbell rings. Vera stands up and goes to see who’s at the door. The discussion reaches high intensity and in that very moment Vera reaches the dinning room with her bf, that actually is a girlfriend! Gosh, I wish I could tell you more, but you can get the idea that this is one fantastic scene that nothing that’s happening is comedy, but you will just laugh at the “surprise” you the viewer have, as no one (and I mean no one) in the table notices Vera and her girlfriend. I just loved this scene, what follows, especially Matty and Vera conversation, and the very uplifting end about a woman, Matty, that takes control of her before empty life.

Performances are superb especially by Barbara Sarafian that plays Matty and she is so good that is no surprise that she collected some honors including the Jury Award at the 2009 Mediawave Hungary fest; the film was screened at the 2008 Cannes fest at the Semaine de la Critique and was honored with the ACID/CCAS Award and the SACD Award for Best Screenwriter; it has more awards and nominations from all over the world. It took me more than a year to be able to watch this film, but honestly the wait was really worth it, as this is one movie that I’m sure that adult audiences from allover the world could enjoy as much as I did.

By the way, in case you are wondering about the movie title, Moscow is a small Belgian town district of Ghent where the movie takes place and does not move much from Matty’s apartment close surroundings, adding to the realism of the pic. Last, aanrijding is Flemish or Dutch for collision and definitively is a best title for this great movie, as is a collision what changes everything for Matty.

I highly recommend this movie, especially for many women of “certain age”, as this is a great story that many women in the world should see – but please do not forget that’s an European story and film. For those interested in the lesbian interest genre, the movie is not about anything lesbian related, but the little lesbian content is crucial for the story and leads to a fabulous mother/daughter talk that I suggest you do not miss.

Perhaps some of you can notice that this movie really excited me and yes, I loved the movie style, story and the great debut by a director that rapidly takes viewers attention and do not let you go during the entire movie. But at the end, you do not want more, as you’re totally satisfied and Happy!

Big Enjoy!!!

Watch trailer @ Movie On Companion

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