What starts out as a standard fender bender in a car park at a super market in the town of Ghent,ends up in a chance meeting of two damaged souls. Matty,who's husband,Werner has left her for a much younger woman,and has yet to come to terms about it,backs her car into a truck, driven by Johnny,who at first verbally lashes out at her,then offers to fix her car. Things begin to happen to this mis-matched pair. Barbara Sarafian turns in a winning performance as Matty,who is bitter & cynical of all men. She works at the local post office,where she is subjected to the more sordid details of the love life of her co-worker. Matty has three children by her (failed)marriage to Werner (Peter,played by a somewhat myopic Julian Borsani...Fien,played by Sofia Ferri--a delight...and her 17 year older daughter,Vera,played by Anemone Valcke,who should have had more screen time). Johnny,played by a (at first)brutish looking Jurgen Delnael,is another example of a man who couldn't control his temper,as a result of out of control alcoholism (but has taken the pledge,and only drinks water,even at a bar),but has tried to get his life back together & takes a real fancy to Matty. Johan Hildenbergh (who absolutely shone on screen in Marlene Goris's film of 'Antonia's Line')plays Matty's swinish art teacher ex-husband, Werner,who just can't be trusted,by Matty (Werner's mobile phone goes off at always the wrong time by his live in lover,who we never see on screen,but we know she's got Werner by the short & curly's). A mixed bag of emotions (rage to tenderness)make this a tempest of a relationship,which makes for a film that varies from funny to harrowing to pathos. Check it out (if you don't mind a film that is mostly spoken in the Flemish dialect of Dutch). Not rated by the MPAA, this film contains raunchy language,nudity & adult situations.
