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The film opens with a variety of shots of the city of Bruges. High angle shots are used on
gargoyles, stone statues and the church, creating the impression that religion will be a
key theme throughout the duration of the film. Use of the high angle shot reflects the fact
that the characters may feel diminutive in its presence, how God and the need to
reconcile for sins are more powerful than themselves. Close ups are used too to show the
eeriness, creepiness and scariness of the place, symbolising the fear th e main character
Ray will feel as he struggles to cope in the aftermath of his mistake. A lo ng shot is
employed into the sequence to help establish the setting, showing how the church towers
over the city. This reiterates the idea that it will be highly significant and important
throughout the film, and will have some bearing on the consequences of the characters.
Again, long shots of the Bruges skyline help the viewer become familiar with the place,
portraying to be extremely medieval, old fashioned and not modernised.

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Mise· en Scene is used effectively, with the timing night. This is recognised by the use of
the dark sky, and the old fashioned street lamps in action to illuminate the streets. This
adds to the eeriness, whilst also reflecting the dark, depressing and bleak mind of Ray.
The church, however, is clearly vis ible due to use of candle light and street lamp. Use of
this suggests it is significant, and a place of sanctuary, holiness and protection from the
darkness. If it is to be interpreted symbolically, the darkness could be the heart of Ray,
and the church·s policy of forgiveness and reconciliation would save him from himself.
The street floors are wet, hinting that it has just rained, with the rain symbolising the sin
of murdering the child and Ray·s own arrival to Bruges, adding to the misery too.
However, the gargoyles seem dry compared to the floors, hinting that it is immune to evil
and reiterating it is a magical place. No people are seen, and the stillness of the river
shows it is a calm, uneventful and tranquil place. This is ironic due to the nature of the
events that are to unfold during their stay in the city. A dying tree can be seen in one
shot, and could be a sign of the death of the child and the promise of more death later.
V  

This scene contains many shots of Bruges, all at a slow pace, wi th shots fading between
each other. Once more, this is a sign of the serenity, peacefulness and stillness, the use of
the fade moving things along slowly. There is no incident, there is nothing extravagant ,
and there is certainly no sign of an event unfold ing. Typography is basic. The font is
simple, small and plain, around size twelve in white on a dark background. The use of
the colour white and smallness in size could reflect the innocence and purity of the
deceased infant, whilst the large black backgro und around it could, oppositely,
symbolise the evil, malicious, criminal actions of Ray. And the darkness of his soul.
Another interpretation of the little writing could be echoing the hatred he feels for the
place, and how little he cares for it.

+


Sound is pivotal in this opening. Violins and a piano are playing softly. This further
reinforces the morose atmosphere, the sadness of the incident and the sadness of the
deterioration of Ray. It creates an emotional, sad atmosphere, representing the inn er
state of the antagonist. It is of a fairly loud volume, yet it lessens upon the first piece of
dialogue, from Ray. He addresses the audience, telling us how he got to Bruges and the
reasons behind it. ¶ We had to await instructions«I didn·t even know whe re Bruges
fucking was.· In telling that he had to await instructions, it shows he is not in control of his
own fate, that the stability of his own life lies in the hands of some mysterious, unknown
power. This grips us, as we yearn to discover whom. Use of the word ¶fucking· tells a lot
about his character. He is rude, unpleasant, and straight forward, speaking what he
thinks. It hints at his agitation, anger and annoyance at himself and having to hide, a
theme that is to be expanded as the film goes on, an d will eventually come to a huge
climax.

   

Representation is used in this extract. Bruges itself is represented as a bleak, depressing

setting, again setting the tone of the movie and reflecting the sole of the struggling
antagonist. It is a medieval, gothic place, again a symbol of the misery for the film.
Evidence of it·s unpopularity comes later
in the film, where Ray describes it as a
¶shithole.· Yet as stated above it seems
an extremely calm place too, shown in
the stillness of the rive r. A church is
represented as the central point of the
city, and a place of safety, heaven, and
reconciliation. Ray himself is represented
as a hardened man, ¶I dumped the gun in
the river.· His matter-of-fact tone suggests
he is a bluntly honest, forthright
character. Use of his swearing possibly
hints at a lack of manners, consequently a
lack of proper education. This hints that he may be a low class man of little status, whom
turned to such desperate measures in order to make a
living for himself. In doing this it serves to make his
character unpredictable and unstable, which entertains
the viewer for they may ne ver know what he will do
next. Hitmen are represented as dangerous too, such as
the leader Harry, who again is a deranged lunatic. The
female love interest, Chloe, is represented as being just
as dangerous as the men: she sells drugs, she dates
dangerous men, and throughout the film can be just as
sly and manipulative as Ray. However, she symbolises
far more: she symbolises beauty, humanity and love.
This is significant because she is the means of which
Ray decides to keep living and breathing, she keeps
him alive simply by her love, partly helping to nurse his
heart and soul back to health. A dwarf named Jimmy is also a central character: he is
created as a spiteful, drugged, eccentric character, often mimicked and mocked by Ray
and Chloe for his size, (a p rime example being when Ray karate chops his neck and
says, ¶back off shorty.·) This possibly suggests all midgets are objects to be mocked and
ridiculed, which may cause offense.




The ideology of ¶In Bruges· is fascinating. The director chose Bruges as an ideal location
because it is small, remote and isolated, which is perfect due to the fact the characters
need to flee and lie low, the place permitting them to do so undetected. Also, the
director greatly made sinning and religion a huge subject . Having killed the infant, Ray
pesters his friend Ken about his own personal views, for he fears refusal to heaven. This
possibly suggests that if you do murder somebody, it destroys your soul, and you end up
a depressed, guilty human being. However, the director possibly believes that love can
cure this: as I stated above Chloe represents love, and as she comes into Ray·s life his
attitude seems to change, for he begins to have a newfound happiness, more positive
view on life, and a purpose to survive. Ye t inevitably the director could think that
inevitably, what goes around comes around: Ray is made to pay by Harry, whom prior to
accidentally murdering Jimmy fires many bullets into the antagonist, slaughtering him for
his earlier sin of murdering the chil d.

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The target audience of In Bruges is a specialist bunch. It is an extremely dark film, and
covers some distasteful and controversial themes and topics, such as the deaths of
dwarves and infants, prostitution and religion. This film may amuse teenagers in parts,
yet it gains its certificate as an 18 due to the fact that only adults may be able to be more
appreciative of its genius, recognising the subtly of the jokes throughout. It is not an
obvious comedy, yet it is none the less a film full of controversial jokes that you just
cannot help but chuckle at. Due to the events of the film, adults may also be more wiser
and mature, able to deal with them easier.