Moscow, Belgium makes LA Times top 10

Christophe Van Rompaey’s Moscow, Belgium has been named by the LA Times as one of its top 10 foreign language films of 2009. In 2008, the film grabbed headlines when it was selected for the 47th International Critic’s week at Cannes. This year it was also awarded at Fantasporto, Oporto International Film Festival and at the Lubuskie Film Summer.

As foreign language films do not always get the attention they deserve, the LA Times wanted to create a must-see list for cinema audiences, compiled by Times film critic Kenneth Turan. Making the top 10 is the most recent triumph for an already successful film, with awards from festivals such as Cannes (Soutien ACID/CCAS, prix SACD, Grand Rail d’Or), Zürich International Film Festival (Variety New Talent Award) and Denver Film Festival (K. Kieslowski Award for Best Film).

The LA Times describes the film as being “as wonderfully contradictory as its title. Set in the Belgian city of Ghent, this realistic romantic comedy uses considerable raffish charm and a great spirit to look at love's struggles with an off-beat but very human eye.” Moscow, Belgium keeps company with films such as Coco Before Chanel (France), Everlasting Moments (Sweden) and Flame & Citron (Denmark).

Moscow, Belgium is the story of Matty, a housewife, and Johnny, a truck-driver. She is 41. He is 29. When her car collides with his truck on the parking lot of a supermarket, they have a terrible row about who is to blame, during which Johnny realises that Matty is the woman of his life.

The film’s American distributor is NeoClassics Films, its Flemish producer is Jean-Claude Van Rijckeghem.