Ghost Tropic

It was warming to watch Bas Devos' second film in a year's time (the first being Hellhole) which paints Brussels and its inhabitants with a much more charming brush. He did a great job of inspiring a multidimensional soul into, and offering a pedestal to a poorly understood and often overlooked minority: the small, middle-aged Muslim woman with few distinguishing features.

The film follows her on her journey from the final stop of a metro line after falling asleep through a wet and cold (and frankly, ugly) Brussels which, for the sake of the movie, has been jumbled up. On her walk, a number of friendly and less friendly encounters bring her to understand her own position and that of her 17-year old daughter who clearly no longer belongs to the same 'lost generation' as she does.

While I wouldn't want to watch a film like this every day, it was comforting to join Khadija on a reflection of my own nightly amblings through Brussels' streets, meeting other nocturnal creatures: slightly shy and uneasy but good-natured and human all the same. The film offers hope and inspiration, especially after the rather bleak Hellhole. I hope to see more of Bas Devos soon.