By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Bas Devos
Starring: Cédric Luvuezo | Liyo Gong | Saadia Bentaïeb | Stefan Gota | Teodor Corban
Year: 2024
Running time: 84
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26448954/reference/
Michael says: “In a fitting follow-up to Chlotrudis 2021 Buried Treasure winner GHOST TROPIC, writer/director Bas Devos explores the city of Brussels through the eyes of two immigrants in this tender, humanist character study that highlights the natural spots in the urban landscape.
“Stefan is a construction worker, returning to his home country for vacation to visit his mother for the first time in a long while. As he prepares for his trip by emptying his refrigerator and using the fresh produce therein to make soup to give away, we learn his life is a little aimless, and he suffers from mild insomnia where he walks the city late at night. This sequences are reiminscent of Khadija’s (GHOST TROPIC) overnight sojourn across the city after falling asleep on her bus ride home. The beautiful examinations of city’s when few people are out and about tie these films together in a sublime way.
“The other main character in HERE is ShuXiu, a docotral student teachng Botany, studying moss, and helping out at her auntie’s take-out Chinese restaurant in her spare time. She and Stefan meet cute at the restaurant during a torrential downpour that traps him there for a bit, then randomly again in the forest where she is studying various types of moss. Their unusal, slightly awkward encounters grow into something as we slowly learn a little bit more about each of them.
“And that’s pretty much it. There are some really wonderful shots, and Devos uses the natrual environment, and his visual instincts and camera work to maximum effect. Sound design is terrific, including the ever-present trains running through the city. And that final scene quietly blew me away in the last few seconds, bringing a smile and tears to my eyes simultaneously. 4 1/2 cats”
Julie B. says: “I loved this one. So easy and a pleasure to watch. Here focuses on friendship and living in the moment. Secondarily the film depicts the juxtaposition between city life (containing quaint architecture, mom and pop storefronts, cozy tree lined streets as well as looming new construction) to the beauty of nature (with forests near and overlooking the city down to the beauty of the moss within at a microscopic level). Brussels often has a mix of the two but the film begs the question will these forests within this city and others slowly disappear?
“I had to laugh out loud (twice since I re-watched some pieces of the film) at the literal switch in the film where the definition of living in the moment truly takes hold and changes the outcome of things. Of course, we are left not knowing to full outcome but we can guess.
“A true gem.
“And yes Devos seems to have developed a very distinctive signature. 4.5 cats”