Mar 30: In Bruges (2008) dir. Martin McDonagh

One of my favourite films is In Bruges. It was made by Martin McDonagh whose films include 'Three Billboards outside Ebbing Missouri', which I shall return to later. It is a black comedy.

It is set, obviously, in a city which I know well: the Belgian city of Bruges. Almost every scene is set in a place which I know well and have visited while on ERASMUS+ project visits. These include the bar where the characters have a drink, the bench by the statue of Van Eyck they chat next to, the hotel where they stay, the view from the canal side and numerous others. 

Here's the film trailer:

The film has a lot of swearing, and I mean a lot, so be aware of this in advance, and also has quite a lot of violence, including gun violence, and drug use. But apart from that...

There are a number of sites which explore the geography of the city, and how it plays out in the film.

The city is famously described by Colin Farrell as being a "sh**hole".

One of the first geographical elements is the description of how, when you arrive in Bruges at the railway station, you come out and the first thing you see is a dual carriageway. This is directly outside the railway station 

The music is by Carter Burwell, who has also composed the music for quite a few Coen Brothers films.

Some key scenes are set in, and outside the Belfort or Belfry which overlooks some of the main squares and canals in the centre of the city.

A nice set of dialogue here:

Ken: “You coming up?”

Ray: “What’s up there?”

Ken: “The view.”

Ray: “The view of what? The view of down here? I can see that from down here.”

Ken: “Ray, you’re about the worst tourist in the whole world.”

Here's one of my photos, showing the area where the hotel stayed in by the two main protagonists is located.

Images: Alan Parkinson, shared under CC license

One of the film's taglines is 'Shoot First, Sightsee later' and several companies offer walks where you can visit the locations in the film.

You can download a special movie map from the link here.

Don't forget to check out the alcoves.

For those who want to go further, check out this article by Coinin Moore.

This analysis of the film's themes is exactly the sort of thing I was hoping to have plenty of when I first came up with the idea for the blog.

The article considers how the film explores themes related to the Irish diaspora (the movement of people from Ireland to other parts of the world) and how the two main characters: Ray and Ken, are essentially 'displaced persons', finding themselves in Bruges as they do.

Activity

What locations in the city can you identify on the film's poster?

Images of Bruges: Alan Parkinson, shared under CC license