Here

"Here" is an interesting film from Belgium that underscores the difference between US and European films in their style. It won the Best Film award and the FIPRESCI Prize at the 2023 Berlin film festival in the Encounters section. It is based on its director Bas Devos' screenplay adapted from a 1988 essay written by the late US science fiction writer Ursula K Le Guin entitled 'The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction.'

While essentially the film is a tale of love that gently grows between two persons in Brussels--a Romanian construction worker and a Belgian-Chinese doctoral-student bryologist (a scientist who studies mosses)--the film educates the viewer in science while telescoping moss as a metaphor on organic processes that rarely gain attention in the world today. To an astute viewer, "Here" offers more value than "Poor Things," another 2023 film adaptation of a sci-fi literary source. It is amusing to note the original literary work's title includes the words 'carrier bag' while the construction worker is often with a carry bag containing vessels of soup that he has cooked to give away to folks close to him.

This is the definition of an "artsy" and pretentious movie. Not just a STYLE OVER SUBSTANCE : There is nothing substantial here. Nothing meaningful, nothing that you're gonna remember it for a while. A shallow and hollow movie about Nothing. There is a guy who's obsessively making soups, a girl, at some point near the ending they met each other and take a trip into a Brussels park, and that's it.

I would be less hostile if this hadn't a 92/100 Metascore rating. Movie critics have totally lost any touch with reality.

Still, i gave it 5 stars because for some strange reason, i watched the whole movie without struggling. At some point, for 2 minutes, viewer watches only grass and roots and something like that, and it is less boring than it seems. Probably the best part. It's a sweet movie, nothing vile and twisted here, characters are boring and forgettable but likeable. And its running time helps a lot, it's only 80 minutes.

There is something soul soothing in this movie, and i cannot not appreciate, hence the 5 stars. But this is not Cinema. Just some nice shots are not enough for an artistic creation. There is no story here. It's more like a documentary than a movie.

Here is likely one of the most real movies I've seen lately. Therefore, despite having an extremely slow pace and a really thin plot, its captivating storytelling and true relationships make you feel as if you were watching a true reality show, without the fireworks and unnecessary commentary.

It doesn't offer much in terms of the story itself. It's a simple tale of a simple man, Stefan, who's living an ordinary life and looking for some purpose in his everyday struggles. We know that doing so isn't as easy as it sounds, and is actually a quite complicated goal amidst all the troubles of life. The director Bas Devos knows it all too well and sticks true to the movie's concept.

During the film, Stefan stumbles across Shuxiu. At first sight, they don't really have any connections, yet, in a typical human manner, it blossoms from the simplest of things and conversations. Their relationship slowly develops throughout the film, and is both complex and simple, which is quite paradoxical, but we get it. In the end, each of us had similar interactions in our lives as well.

The movie puts a strong emphasis on visual storytelling, focusing on nature and how it springs to life despite harsh conditions. I believe it's a metaphor for Stefan and Shuxiu's relationship, which, in the face of early contradictory essence, somehow begins to work as well.

On top of that, both Stefan and Shuxiu's relationships with other people are almost too natural for cinema.

Unfortunately, Here doesn't have much else to offer besides stunning visuals that feel right to have in a story like this. It may be enough for slow cinema fans, who are keen on simple stories. I personally wanted to get hooked on it, but there wasn't enough for me to hold onto. Still, you leave the cinema pretty moved, with a tiny smile on your face, due to the movie's sweet ending, which feels as if we've lived it ourselves, at least once in our lives.

An altruistic film. The cinematography is gorgeous. The composition is genius. With all the greenery scenes it's a refreshing look. A pallet cleanser.

Simply two average humans wandering around in their city with deep thoughts and no judgments as they scrutinize their day to day with questions about what is life. They stopped often to smell the roses to be present in the moment.

The pace is a slow burn on purpose. In order for this fim to be effective your heart rate needs to be relaxed. Almost as if you are in a meditative state. This film is an immersive art piece. It captures you and you use all your five senses. It reminds you that you are here.

Saw this at the 2023 filmfestival in Ghant (Belgium). A minimal story about two people in Brussels, living their separate lives, meeting each other by accident a few times, and find a connection for some reason or other. No sex, nor any other intimate contact.

When the movie ends, they do not even know each other names, but still there is some bond. We see it grow gradually, mixed with images of Brussels' city nature that also gets its fair share of attention.

Seeing this movie had an unexpected side effect on me. When at home I started making soup from all sorts of remaining vegetables I had lying around, inspired by Stefan who had to clear his fridge before going back to his country. In Dutch, we call this madiwodo soup (does not translate, but is typically made by cafeterias at work on a Friday, out of remaining ingredients from the previous Mon/Tue/Wed/Thursday, or motuweth for short, not a pronounceable acronym).

Notwithstanding that the story went nowhere interesting, the lead actors and the way it is pictured was remarkably compelling. I'm not sure how the filmmakers do it, but it works even for a nerd like me who doesn't do feelings nor atmosphere.