Having lost his gentle and loving wife, a widower becomes a shade of his former self. While his faithful housekeeper watches in dismay, he turns his house into a museum and a mausoleum devoted to his lost happiness. About the only thing that consoles him is the quiet melancholy of Bruges, a storied city permanently stuck in the past. Then, one day, he happens to meet a female dancer who could be the twin of the dead woman...
In the past I wrote a small review for the "Bruges-la-morte" movie (1978) by director Ronald Chase. (Recommended it, by the way). Recently I had the pleasure of watching yet another adaptation of Georges Rodenbach's great novel.
This time it's Roland Verhavert who's having a go at this tale of love, grief and obsession. He does very well, by delivering a faithful and respectful adaptation. (The "Jeanne" character seems a bit too sweet and innocent, but this is a minor objection.) His movie is a slow-burning but chilling psychological drama which, just like the novel, works towards a devastating conclusion.
Nowadays Bruges is a prosperous, bustling city full of students and tourists. Verhavert and his team somehow succeeded in emptying the busy streets - they must have used a flamethrower - and the result is eerie in its unrelenting loneliness. I, for one, have never seen the city like this, not even at a time of general misfortune or disease. It's a visual translation of a deep psychological truth : lose the one person you love the most, and your environment will become a desert.
Note the superb costumes, which help establish a strong sense of time and place.
In the past I wrote a small review for the "Bruges-la-morte" movie (1978) by director Ronald Chase. (Recommended it, by the way). Recently I had the pleasure of watching yet another adaptation of Georges Rodenbach's great novel.
This time it's Roland Verhavert who's having a go at this tale of love, grief and obsession. He does very well, by delivering a faithful and respectful adaptation. (The "Jeanne" character seems a bit too sweet and innocent, but this is a minor objection.) His movie is a slow-burning but chilling psychological drama which, just like the novel, works towards a devastating conclusion.
Nowadays Bruges is a prosperous, bustling city full of students and tourists. Verhavert and his team somehow succeeded in emptying the busy streets - they must have used a flamethrower - and the result is eerie in its unrelenting loneliness. I, for one, have never seen the city like this, not even at a time of general misfortune or disease. It's a visual translation of a deep psychological truth : lose the one person you love the most, and your environment will become a desert.
Note the superb costumes, which help establish a strong sense of time and place.