In Bruges

Bruges, Belgium is not a city that has gotten a lot of attention over the years. To be honest, I hardly had ever heard of Bruges before this movie. Now, after seeing this film, not only have I heard of it, but I want to go there. BADLY! The PLOT of the movie is not what made me crave to travel to Bruges. Actually, the plot would be a hindrance. (I’m sure Bruges is not too happy having the image that people rampantly are getting shot throughout their town -- that's not really what a city wants on their tourism brochures.) In the beginning of the film, it’s like a travelogue…the city becomes one of the characters in the film. We go along with the two hit men as they spend the first part of the film sightseeing in Bruges. We wish we were there with them…tasting the beer and smelling the chocolates and sailing on the canals. Then, as the movie takes its turn toward the bloody and violent, we begin to forget about the chocolate and canals and the beer. We focus, rather, on how sorry we feel for all of these flawed, troubled and doomed characters. Sure, they are all bad men. But, in strange ways, all are likeable. Really! Hit men with hearts of gold…I know – mighty corny. But, it’s true. So, what have we learned here? Bruges is a beautiful, picturesque city. And not all hit men are bad people. Two excellent life lessons that I know will help me plenty in years to come. I’ll send you a postcard from Bruges and let you know if I've put my life lessons to use yet.