Spending Time In Bruges (2008)

I still have a number of old classic movies I should get to, but when you have friends coming over, you have to go for something a little more modern. I had several choices prepared when they showed up, and the choice was made to watch In Bruges. They've told me plenty of times that I should see it, so it makes sense that would be the one they didn't mind seeing. I knew nothing about this movie though, so if you're the same as me, hit the jump to find out what the big deal is. If you already know about In Bruges, then you'll get to see me give all the reasons why I thought it was so great right after the jump!


I knew nothing about this movie. Not a single thing. I wonder then how much of the story I should reveal as I talk about it. Basically, every little thing about this movie was new to me, and maybe that's why I enjoyed it so much. If you don't want anything spoiled about it (not that I'm going to go way into spoilers) and you just want to have a totally fresh experience, then stop right here and just go see it. It's really good, just go see it and you can read the rest of this afterwards. Otherwise, continue.

The story here revolves around two hit men, Ken (Brendan Gleeson) and Ray (Colin Ferrell), who have been sent to Bruges, Belgium to hide out for a while after a job that went a bit sour. Ken thinks they've been sent there for a job, because it makes no sense that they'd be sent all the way to Bruges to hide out when they could just as easily hide out somewhere much closer to home. As they wait for contact from their boss Frank (Ralph Fiennes) they tour the city, take in the sites, and contemplate the morality of using a gun on an attacker with a bottle. Ken is quite enjoying his time taking in the culture, but Ray can't stand the place. That is until he meets Chloe (Clémence Poésy). As it turns out, they do have a job to take care of in Bruges, but it's not what they expected!

Having a laugh while taking in the sites in Bruges

This movie was at the same time surprisingly funny, and surprisingly dramatic. There are plenty of smart and witty scenes that had me laughing and chuckling away. Then the movie can turn a complete 180 and start talking about life, death, faith and morality. Then to lighten the mood it all swings smoothly back over into the funny side again. It's an odd movie in that it contains all kinds of emotions and film genres perfectly mashed together. I don't know how they did it, but it's bloody brilliant!

It's all going well and good until the unexpected happens... isn't that always the way

For most of the movie I could never tell what was going to happen next. It doesn't get really wacky or insane like Hangover, but they still meet some interesting people and get into some unexpected situations. You never know when a random act of violence is about to break out, and they always seem to happen at the most inopportune moments, especially for Ray. There's a little bit of action, some romance, a thrilling chase, some bloody kills and and whole bunch of comedy. I will say though, that while I never knew where the movie was going to go, or even the tone it was going to take from one minute to the next, I was able to see the ending moments coming from nearly a mile away. Nevertheless, it was still good.

They are hit men after all

I would easily watch this movie again, and it's no wonder my friends have been bugging me to see it for so long. My timing couldn't have been better though, as this is also a Christmas movie taking place near the holiday, as it's referenced a number of times. This film really does have a little bit of everything. So if you're looking for a cool, funny thriller, or just a new Christmas movie to watch, look no further than In Bruges. You won't regret it!