Ghost Tropic

By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats | 4.6
Director: Bas Devos
Starring: Guy Dermul | Maaike Neuville | Nora Dari | Saadia Bentaïeb | Stefan Gota

Country: belgium, netherlands

Year: 2020

Running time: 85

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10244760/reference

Michael says: “This beautiful little film about a Maghrebi woman in Brussels sparked quite a bit of discussion among Chlotrudis members. For example, the only reason why I know that the Khadija, the woman in question, is from the Maghreb region Northern Africa, is because it says so in the film synopsis. I don’t believe it explicitly states that in the film itself. In fact, there is a lot you can learn about the film if you read a few reviews after you watch it that will make the film resonate much more and give you a more complete understanding. Therein lay the question we were discussing. Is a film successful if it requires outside reading or research in order to fully understand it? I guess it depends on who you are. If you are a Magrebi person, or perhaps if you are from Brussels, this information may be evident in the film in ways that I was not able to understand. Additionally, I enjoyed the film for what it was, even without a greater understanding of the motivations and imagery. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I wanted to learn more about the film after I watched it, which led me to read reviews and articles that then gave me a great understanding of it. So for me, a well-made film does not have to include every last bit of information clearly stated within it.

“So Khadija works the evening shift as a cleaning woman for a large office building.One night as her shift ends, probably around 11pm, she boards the last bus to travel home, but she falls asleep, and ends up on the opposite end of Brussels. She doesn’t have the cash on hand for a taxi, and an attempt to use the ATM at the Mall would have been completely thwarted as it was closed, but for the kindness of a security guard who gives her access. Trouble is, she can’t really afford to take a cab, so she decides to walk. Along her route, she has some interesting encounters, including a homeless man, a couple of police officers, a man walking his dog in a somewhat wealthy neighborhood, a clerk at a gas station convenient store who offers Khadija a ride, staff of a hospital, and eventually, her teen-aged daughter. She gets home just in time for a quick nap, perhaps, a shower, then it’s back on the bus to work.

“GHOST TROPIC is an homage to the city at night, in this case, Brussels. There are many lengthy shots of different parts of the city at night. While there always seemed to be the possible threat of danger, perhaps that was just my own sense of the city at night, because in GHOST TROPIC, the city of Brussels seemed to take on a complete different, yet gentle… almost magical tenor overnight. The encounters Khadija has give us a little insight into her life, but not all that much. We know she is a good, hard-working woman, and that perhaps she longs to return home to the Mediterranean coasts of her home.

“Saadia Bentaïeb is quite lovely as Khadija, giving us so much of her internal life by the choices she makes, the few lines she speaks to others, even the sound of the tread of her footsteps in the night. Saadia was in BPM (BEATS PER MINUTE) and surprisingly, she is the third cast member listed for that other spectral film Chlotrudis members have watched recently, BURNING GHOST! (Diane, Chris – how did we miss that?) Other than the city itself, it really is Bentaïeb’s film, and she maintained my attention quite well once I adjusted to the quiet, slow-paced film — the type of film that I love, but always requires an adjustment after about 10 minutes in. All three of Belgian director Bas Devos’ feature films have received acclaim and awards at numerous film festivals, and he certainly has a unique storytelling style and vision in GHOST TROPIC that makes me want to visit his other films. One of the most unique and effective elements in the film, as I briefly mentioned above, was the sound of Khadjia’s footsteps on the sidewalks of Brussels. Varying in speed and tone, these footsteps almost acted as dialog in a way that was both mysterious and compelling.

Julie says: “This was an excellent film! Michael’s review is spot on. I too read some reviews wanting to know more after seeing the film. I think that is a fine thing. I did get a much better understanding as well after reading and I felt I understood things much better that I’d questioned after reading the reviews.  4.75 cats.

“I will add that in the late 70’s when I went to UCLA I fell asleep on the last bus home and ended up on the Santa Monica beach where all the homeless people got off and prepared to sleep on the beach for the night!!! I had to walk home. It was a long walk but not as long as hers.

“The city in the film and the way they portrayed it was incredible.  I traveled all over Europe and made it to Turkey and the UK when I lived in Germany but somehow never made it to Brussels which was high on my list.  I regret that. Beautiful city. At times the city as filmed reminded me of Beacon Hill in Boston (late at night) and other times  Metz &  Paris France, Luxembourg  and / or Barcelona. Being a night owl I’ve walked many of these city streets alone at night. But it definitely had it’s own je nais se quois. I have got to go one day! “