(Barbara Safarian and Jurgen Delnaet in Moscow, Belgium, above.)by Terry Keefe
(Note: This article is appearing in Venice Magazine.)
Christophe Van Rompaey's debut feature Moscow, Belgium opens with the romantic comedy convention that Billy Wilder famously dubbed the "meet cute," meaning a colorful manner of introducing your two leads, who are sure to dislike each other at first but are destined to fall in love by the third reel. It's a minor fender-bender that brings Matty (Barbara Sarafian) and Johnny (Jurgen Delnaet) together in Moscow, Belgium, and they are truly an unlikely couple: Matty is a conservative fortysomething mother of three who is currently estranged from her philandering professor husband; and Johnny is a wild, and wildly romantic, truck driver with a history of violence (he put his girlfriend in the hospital some time prior). The story of Moscow, Belgium hits most of the expected beats, beginning with the meet cute, but where Van Rompaey moves away from genre convention, and also distinguishes his film, is in tactily acknowledging that this pairing is only likely to be a short-time romance, and that there is no tragedy in that. When Matty makes the decision as to who she is going to stay with at the conclusion, Johnny or her husband, it's clear that what is important to the filmmaker is that Matty became empowered enough to make that decision, not which guy she picked. It's not a story of happily ever after, but one of happy for the moment. And for Matty's character, that is enough. The film is best categorized as a romantic dramedy, anyway, and this more realistic look at the couple's prospects fits the overall tone well. Van Rompaey elaborates, "I often get asked after the film, 'What's going to happen next for Matty and Johnny?' But for me, it's not important whether they are together later. The day he starts drinking again and puts her in the hospital, who knows where they'll be? But what is important is that now they are stronger and able to move on. It's a basic story in that she's dead emotionally, and at a standstill. Then, she meets this guy who is the same situation. They need to meet, and have this encounter, so that they're able to move on in their lives."
The Moscow of the film's primary setting isn't the one with the Red Square, but a neighborhood in Ghent. Says Van Rompaey, "During the war against the French, Russian soldiers, Cossacks, were stationed there. The story that parents told their children is, 'Be good, or we'll send you to Moscow.' It's a very eerie place, not even on the map." The original title of the film, Aanrijding in Moscou, would have translated to Accident in Moscow, which Van Rompaey notes with a laugh, "Just didn't sound sexy."
Van Rompaey has worked as a director for years in Belgian television and is also quick to point out that he has also spent years trying to get a first feature off the ground. On the current state of filmmaking in Belgium, Van Rompaey explains, "Let's face it, Flanders doesn't have a film industry. Everybody knows each other. We are like subsidized hobby people [laughs]. Here (in the U.S.), it's an industry." At the same time, the director is hopeful for what is to come for Belgian film, as he has, after all, directed a Belgian genre film which is succeeding in numerous countries outside of his own. Says Van Rompaey, "I'm sad to say that most of the films (in Belgium) have been aimed at the local audiences, with local stars, and not necessarily the best actors. But the last few years, new people have had a chance to make a first feature. There is more diversity, and more genres are being explored, and everything is just more alive. And there more of our films going out of our country and doing well in the world."
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