In Bruges (2008)

Guilt-stricken after a job gone wrong, hitman Ray and his partner await orders from their ruthless boss in Bruges, Belgium, the last place in the world Ray wants to be.

Director:

Martin McDonagh

Writer:

Martin McDonagh

Stars:

Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Ciarán Hinds

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 24 wins & 53 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Elizabeth Berrington	...	Natalie
Rudy Blomme	...	Ticket Seller
Olivier Bonjour	...	Film Director
Mark Donovan	...	Overweight Man
Ann Elsley	...	Overweight Woman #2
Colin Farrell	...	Ray
Jean-Marc Favorin	...	Policeman (as Jean Mark Favorin)
Ralph Fiennes	...	Harry
Brendan Gleeson	...	Ken
Eric Godon	...	Yuri
Zeljko Ivanek	...	Canadian Guy
Sachi Kimura	...	Imamoto
Anna Madeley	...	Denise
Louis Nummy	...	Harry's Child #3
Clémence Poésy	...	Chloe

Storyline

London based hit men Ray and Ken are told by their boss Harry Waters to lie low in Bruges, Belgium for up to two weeks following their latest hit, which resulted in the death of an innocent bystander. Harry will be in touch with further instructions. While they wait for Harry's call, Ken, following Harry's advice, takes in the sights of the medieval city with great appreciation. But the charms of Bruges are lost on the simpler Ray, who is already despondent over the innocent death, especially as it was his first job. Things change for Ray when he meets Chloe, part of a film crew shooting a movie starring an American dwarf named Jimmy. When Harry's instructions arrive, Ken, for whom the job is directed, isn't sure if he can carry out the new job, especially as he has gained a new appreciation of life from his stay in the fairytale Bruges. While Ken waits for the inevitable arrival into Bruges of an angry Harry, who feels he must clean up matters on his own, Ray is dealing with his own ...

---

Plot Keywords:

dwarf | guilt | bruges | irish | hitman | 

---

Taglines:

Shoot first. Sightsee later.

---

Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong bloody violence, pervasive language and some drug use

Details

Official Sites:

Focus Features [United States] Official Facebook

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 February 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

In Bruges

Filming Locations:

Gruuthuse Museum, Bruges, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$457,227, 10 February 2008, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$7,757,130, 15 June 2008

Company Credits

Production Co:

Focus Features,Film4,Blueprint Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The word 'fuck' and its derivatives are said 126 times in this 107-minute film, an average of 1.18 'fucks' per minute.

---

Goofs

When Ray tells Ken that they are in the Basilica of the Holy Blood, named after a phial of Christ's blood brought back from the Crusades, they are not. They are in the Jeruzalemkerk, a private church built in the 15th century as a mausoleum for a wealthy merchant's family. The Basilica is the most visited church in Bruges.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Ray: After I killed them, I dropped the gun in the Thames, washed the residue off me hands in the bathroom of a Burger King, and walked home to await instructions. Shortly thereafter the instructions came through. "Get the fuck out of London, youse dumb fucks. Get to Bruges." I didn't even know where Bruges fucking was.
[pause]
Ray: It's in Belgium.

---

Crazy Credits

In the on-screen credits, Kathy Heaser is listed twice as Graphic Designer.

---

Connections

References Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)

---

Soundtracks

On Raglan Road
Written by Patrick Kavanagh
Arranged and Performed by The Dubliners
The words of 'On Raglan Road' by Patrick Kavanagh are reprinted by kind permission of the Trustees of the Estate of the late Katherine B. Kavanagh, through the Jonathan Williams Literary Agency

User Reviews

What a Great Movie

I've used IMDb for years but have never felt the urge to post a review until now. I had the pleasure of attending an advanced screening of this movie in NYC last night to which Colin Farrell attended. I bought the screening tickets just wanting to bring my fiancé to see some celebrities in person while not knowing much about the movie. I figured it would be a "hard-to-understand" foreign, indie film whose humor would be lost on a "dumb American." However, the truth was absolutely the opposite. My hard-to-please fiancé agreed.

The movie is a bit slow for the first half but it's entirely necessary to set the mood and the contrast between that and the second half. That's all I'll say so as not to spoil anything. It is really a great movie. There's comedy, beautiful cinematography, and awesome action scenes, albeit scattered throughout and absent at times when the viewer may be growing weary. I'd highly recommend seeing this movie. It's definitely worth the price of a movie ticket while most of the crap out there these days isn't worth the cost of the paper they print the tickets on.

Let us all know what you think after you see it.