In Bruges - The Absurd Worth of Redemption

[@robogarda3569]

I love how Ken drops coins before he jumps so he didn't land on anyone!

[@willherondale6367]

@Gurry Singh omg

[@oisinquinn9469]

@Psalmist you when coins fall on you from.a height hurt? 🤣 and something bigger may fall. Basic common sense you know?

[@danisyx5804]

And that version of that song one of the more profoundly emotional scenes in film so much selflessness

[@danisyx5804]

@Psalmist have you ever been hit by European pocket change from 10 stories up

[@josephjohnston612]

@@danisyx5804 I would take any coins right now..........

[@GuenniKurti]

In Bruges could have been a depressing story, but somehow it ends up being one of the funniest movies I've ever seen. I love everything about it, from the script to the cinematography and the amazing performances. But the one thing that makes this movie so special is how it manages to find comedy in terrible events that wouldn't have been funny in the slightest if anyone else had written them. I've tried to write screenplays in the past and this movie will always be my go-to example of how to create an amazingly investing and inspiring story full of emotion that somehow ends up making you laugh like no other movie that wears the comedy lable ever could.

[@harishs8567]

Work of art

[@dormammusubjective5774]

It helped me through a really hard time in my life where I was severely depressed. I got back from 9 days in a detox center in 2008 for alcohol and remembered seeing the trailer a few months prior but hadn't gotten around to watching it. I bought it on the way home and watched it every night for a week when battling depression and cravings. You're right about the screenplay and I found it so damn mesmerizing. Between the dialogue, locations, character choices, acting, direction, and cinematography all really led to a sublime experience of comedy, emotional resonance, and very fond retrospection. We need more writer/directors like McDonagh. Or maybe I'm reading too much into it...

[@Nell-r0se]

"And in that moment, i really hoped i wouldn't die"

[@katherinea.williams3044]

Him speaking in past tense always left me wondering his fate, although it’s meant to be ambiguous Stay safe mate✌🏼🌎

[@katherinea.williams3044]

Oh yeah, and SUBSCRIBED! Looking forward to seeing more of your content!

[@diembepoet]

the irony.

[@nevercanyoucant]

actually he climbed the tower to try to get a shot (remember the foreshadowing at the beginning), but it ended up being too foggy.

[@OrangeLightnings]

You're right! Thanks for pointing that out. On editing I was really confused by the shot featuring all the fog. I couldn't figure out what it was supposed to show (because what it showed was nothing). I had totally forgotten the scene with Ken doing the 👉 when he first went up the tower during the day.

[@moragmacgregor6792]

Missed that.

[@robogarda3569]

I love how he drops coins to clear the way!

[@neilmccauley5494]

So as soon as he saw the fog and realised he can't take a shot, why did he jump off? He wasn't suicidal. Colin's character was. Please explain me this. I'm kinda dumb even when it's right in my face

[@2Blunt2Die]

also its hard to hit a target that far away especially when your artery is was shot and he improvised

[@brianmacgabhann5630]

The fact that Gleeson didn't get an Oscar for this is damning indictment of the whole awards system.

[@___blaggard999___8]

those awards are bought and payed for before hand, an amazing actor, in an amazing movie cant compare to bribes from TV executives etc.. those awards mean nothing these days, its sad for truly talented actors who knocked it out of the park in a movie for their award to go to who ever payed best bribe.

[@michaelchesny656]

The political nature of the Academy Awards, industry-wise and otherwise, minimizes the value of the awards. A better reward, I believe, is that Mr. Gleeson has the deserved esteem of fans and peers.

[@NotMeNaNaNa]

@@___blaggard999___8I’ll admit I was rooting for Banshees this year as well as either Colin or Brendan to make up for In Bruges getting no love but to see Fraser and Quan win in the actor categories almost made up for some of the most egregious injustices and obvious “bought and paid for” Oscars of the past(cough… Shakespeare In Love… cough).

[@williamcampagna9851]

The dropped coins is yet another scriptural reference to the 30 pieces of silver of Judas. The movie is packed with biblical and Christian imagery. Ken fulfills all of the requirements of a cinematic Christ figure, like Paul Newman in Cool Hand Luke or Harvey Keitel in the Bad Lieutenant.

[@BiodegradableYTP]

I'm stoked you love this movie as much as I do.

[@TheRussianLondoner]

One of the best movies EVER MADE... It has so much, so many layers, dimensions, meaning, themes, suggestions, humour... This movie is the richest cinematographic cocktail of last few decades

10:29 "...so much density..."

[@AuzzieArtyst]

My friend got a missed call from a random number from Belgium, he sent a pic to our friend group chat with the message “What the fuck is in Belgium” and I responded with “Bruges” with a gif of Ray shrugging and no one got it. I’m really disappointed

[@MarkyCMark]

This film is an underrated masterpiece. Farrell and Gleeson's performances are Oscar worthy.

[@rhollowaybusiness]

This is Colins best movie he ever made. I fell in love with this movie from the beginning. The music was so intriguing it caught my attention and I’m glad it did.

[@Nanku42]

Indeed, the music is perfection and really makes the film

[@alechall7082]

Half the time i dont know if i should laugh or cry. I love movies like that. Incredible

[@shoshoncaligula5512]

I saw this movie on a bord afternoon with no expectations and fell in love.

[@masonpines6349]

I always love hearing people talk about this movie. One of my favorite films of all time and I adamantly think it doesn’t get talked about enough.

[@_elevenofspades]

Oh my god you pointing out that the reason why Ray hates Bruges so passionately is because it’s full of medieval paintings that depict the eternal suffering that he is CONVINCED he will endure because of what he did… 💀 I watched “In Bruges” for the first time yesterday, and I personally found it more depressing than funny: I felt so bad for Ray and Colin Farrell’s performance is so brilliantly tragic in representing his anxiety and self-loathing 🥺 One of the greatest performances I’ve ever seen tbh. As soon as I finished watching the movie I looked up video essays about it and I love that I have found this, I feel like I’m not even close to digging up every little detail that makes this movie great. Incredible video essay for an incredible film 💖💖

[@istoppedcaring6209]

the town is indeed a fairytale, but like the movie indicates it isn't a bustling city that never sleeps, if you are a family man with kids you may spend the day carousing trough the picture perfect streets and squares and taking a boatride on the canals, ending up in the querky shops selling chocolate or thea (the non bag kind), or candy or beer or wine or books or antiques it is just that kind of city, in the evening you then go to a restaurant, you eat an exquisite delicious meal in a picturesque location, Bruges is not a city to let loose and party it is a city where you find serenity as you dine in a location where the ravage of time seems to simply not exist, where there are no deadlines because it hardly seems to have changed in centuries and in fact only seems to have gotten more picturesque with time, like how a wine get's character by aging it

[@terrenceswiff]

LOVE this movie. It's definitely my favorite ever. It's incredible

[@Nanku42]

Agreed, its pure class Cinematic masterclass

[@marshallblansett9254]

The trifecta of Ferrell, Gleason, and McDonagh is absolutely brilliant. Wish there were more movies with these three together.

[@Cskillzs]

I was never able to put into words why i love this movie so much, it's such a hard movie to explain , I'm glad too see videos like this.

[@phantogram1778]

This movie helped saved me soul , I hadn't a clue I'd meet the devil himself not long after seeing this one. Sometimes a good honest heartfelt laugh is all ye need to see the beauties inside ye darkest times

[@ChrisW_Essex]

This is in my top 5 films ever along with Leon & Jacobs Ladder

[@conrad152]

Great analysis great film, it's one of my favourites.

[@georgeknox1822]

In Bruges - best movie ever made , on every level .

[@empathyrespect]

This movie is simply unrivaled!

[@MrVad3r]

music in this movie is soooooooooooooo good

[@msr0685]

Thanks for Three Billboards recommendation, I didn't know about his third movie. Oh, and the video is pretty good too.

[@manthe3711]

There's a fourth movie coming from Martin McDonough. Watch out!

[@XprPrentice]

I too love this film. Thanks for putting into words what many of us feel but have trouble expressing - all the conflicts. (Also, the bit of trivia I think is funny: the actor who plays Jimmy, the American actor, is Canadian - and shares my family name! - and the actor who plays "the Canadian" is American. [And even weirder, just a couple days ago, I could swear I saw the guy who was too big to go up the tower - he was even wearing the same kind of clothes. As possibly "out there" that this film is, it certainly grounds itself in some reality.])

[@XprPrentice]

And, in the tradition of not-strictly-speaking Xmas movies like "Gremlins" or "Die Hard," I watch this every year on Xmas in a double feature with "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang."

[@OrangeLightnings]

That is a fun fact! I hope to climb the tower myself some day, Bruges is a fairy-tale town.

[@XprPrentice]

That's the one. The dual "buddy movie" thing works great as a double feature. Plus, both buddy groups are fab, but they're so different. Downey and Kilmer are especially hilarious to me. (Even though it's a mild joke, they probably couldn't get away with the "Gay Parry" joke now, but I thought these guys played that joke, and the relationship, truthfully throughout.) (And, now I think of it, the "gay" jokes from KKBB, 3 years older, have aged better than the ones here. Weird.)

[@CookieMonsterMC11]

This movie is fantastic

[@cshiels14]

Great video , and the Raglan Road made the whole thing

[@danisyx5804]

I can't not cry during this scene this version of raglan road and the entire sequence of events is just profoundly emotional absolutely brilliant filmmaking

[@BEdwardStover]

Kind of messed up that Ray was going to leave his dead suicide body at a children's playground. I get the why of it, but it would also mess up the kid who found the body. Probably for life.

[@nilsify]

"Thanks for watching" - no, thanks for making the video

[@moragmacgregor6792]

Well done. I love this movie more than any other. I love the soundtrack. Ken’s action made me reevaluate the death of Jesus. I identify as Christian, although not a conventional one. I have never understood the concept that Jesus died to redeem our [as yet uncommitted] sins. Ken’s sacrifice makes more sense. What if Jesus died to get our attention? I can understand that.

[@OrangeLightnings]

That's a really insightful reading! Ken's sacrifice is a redemption, he's done bad things, but is not beyond forgiveness, particularly the forgiveness of himself. His death is evidence that, for those who are genuinely remorseful, all can be forgiven. Ken dies for Ray's sin, and in doing so Ray finds a path to redeem himself (going to the mother's house). In "dying for our sins", perhaps Jesus was showing us the way to forgive ourselves, and other people, for sins we are all capable of making.

[@moragmacgregor6792]

Orange Lightning Oooh, I like that bit about forgiving oneself *very much.* God knows that’s the hardest thing for me (and most people, I suspect). Thanks so much for your response

[@ellerose9164]

Not only is the sacrifice of christ indicated, his birth is too! The story happens at christmas time and there is marie, the pregnant woman who owns the hotel. I love the comforting look she gives Ray right before the and. As if she were saying "all will be well".

[@Nanku42]

I think its the greatest film ever made, its at least in the conversation,its pure art...def my fav film..

[@stevenmccart5455]

Such a great movie.

[@sandorhajdu1129]

one of the best movies out there

[@anirudh9421]

Dude... Thanks for the video... Good job mate...loved your narration.

[@OrangeLightnings]

Thanks friend, movies as good as In Bruges make it easy

[@anirudh9421]

Justice is something that comes after the crime.... And the tragedy left in his wake doesn't go anywhere. Can you please watch Filth( James mcavoy) and do something similar.

[@OrangeLightnings]

I'll totally watch it! I'm careful about what I do videos on, because I spend a lot of time looking for a core 'truth' that's supported by the entire story. In some cases, I can't find it, in others, I don't want to. I did just wrap up Nightcrawler (2014) though, so that'll be published in, like, 30 minutes.

[@olliephelan]

Forgot to mention that it was Ken , not Ray that had the "one last nice memory (of Bruges) before he died"

[@deepakgogoi5975]

What a brilliant review of a wonderful movie. Congratulations!

[@d3xtr144]

Damn, i love the deep analysis of your videos, you make great content im a fan haha

[@maddiedeedee]

Thanks for such a potent and poignant deconstruction of this movie. I love the movie for the reasons you describe and now even more so. Side observation - 'you HEAT the Canadian', do we see Farrell try to make a Deniro face at that? :))

[@mattschultz6356]

I love all the foreshadowing in this movie. Like when Harry shoots through Ray and hits the midget, his head explodes and that was foreshadowed by the arms dealer saying that the hollow points "cop killers" leave quite a hole. And because his head is gone Harry thinks it is a boy and not a middle aged man and ends up following his own rule and kills himself Thats just one example but the movie is littered with foreshadowing like this in such a clever fucking way. Love it

[@mattschultz6356]

Also in that same line, when he's flirting with the dealer at the set they have a talk about dwarfs not liking being called midgets and he remarks "See thats what I mean, people calling you a midget when you want to be called a dwarf, youre bound to blow your head off"

[@joshuawaring4180]

I feel like none of the characters, even Harry, are particularly bad people. They all have some positive qualities that seem to vindicate their negatives.

[@oscarmaidana9294]

I saw In bruges back on 2009 when I was only a Little. Since then is a classic for me. So happy now the people Knows about Mcdonaught.

[@OrangeLightnings]

Still haven't seen Six Shooter, but as far as I'm concerned he's 3 for 3.

[@ChrisW_Essex]

@@OrangeLightnings 6 shooter is all about the cow scene lol

[@Dorian_sapiens]

Orange Lightning Great essay about a great movie. I also just watched your NITW video, which was really good, as well.

[@NizarNoor]

I cried rather uncontrollably when Ken died. That doesn’t happen often with me with movies.

[@samrigg8209]

The crash at the beginning scared the fucking shit out of me

[@Sceptical_Mind]

My favourite movie in the last decade

[@dormammusubjective5774]

Did you check out 'Banshees' yet? In Bruges was a magical film. I first saw it when I was going through a hard time and just made me feel better. Still a top 3 film for me. In Bruges is still my favorite McDonagh film followed by 3 Billboards, then Banshees and Psychopaths. Psychopaths was his only film I just liked but couldn't love. 6 Shooter was really good, too, but that's a short. I recently found it on KZbin to watch again. I really enjoyed your video.

[@OrangeLightnings]

Hell yeah I checked out Banshees! It was great to see the trio of McDonagh, Farrell, and Gleeson reunited. I thought it was sad watching Colm throw away everything for "greatness" on an island the world doesn't even know exists. Great film! Bruges is my favorite, followed by Seven Psychopaths. I actually think Three Billboards is the hardest one for me to love, I thought it was shallower on rewatch, though it still has a lot to like.

[@dormammusubjective5774]

@@OrangeLightnings Totally, I loved them together again. We just needed Ralph Fiennes to complete the group. In Bruges was already great, but the second Harry is on screen, I felt it elevated even higher.. It was sad watching Colm's mental illness take over. I feel a lot of people didn't really acknowledge that in their reviews. I did feel worse for Padraic, though. They were almost reversed by the end and was sad to see that everything that made him want to live was gone. Let's hope for another reunion after he makes a film or two. Funny how our opinions mirror each other for the Psychopaths/Billboards conundrum 😆but that makes discussions more entertaining.

[@ChubbyChecker182]

Great Movie. nice video.

[@jwrice743]

An amazing movie.

[@boatman6865]

McDonagh’s plays are fantastic, go if you get the chance

[@OrangeLightnings]

When the world has some semi normalcy again, this is a thing I am GOING to do.

[@דמכי11]

מודה לך על ניתוח כל כך יפה לסרט המדהים הזה

[@roadhockey]

His date with Chloe reminds me of George on Seinfeld: ""Stick with the opposite""

[@marijabu]

Brilliant film.

[@josh420masterB]

The only thing I never got was how that bullet went through the priest and into the little boy's forehead. The kid was facing at a 90 degree angle from the door the priest went through, so it's possible he could have turned and looked when he heard the gunfire and the priest bursting through the door; but when we see him, he's facing forward. So are we to believe that the kid got shot in the head and then turned back to face forward before collapsing to the ground?

[@OrangeLightnings]

It's a metaphor for how Ray's morals are ajar.

[@ryancannon5921]

Because bullets don't always go straight through their targets and out. The human body is essentially a giant bag of meat, when a bullet enters it can change direction in the body. There's been a case where someone was shot by a cop, in the chest and the bullet came out through their arse-cheek. This is why cops in the US are told to shoot centre-mass (the chest) instead of the leg, because shooting the leg can sever an artery, in most cases, killing someone regardless.

[@shortjohnsilver4605]

He fired multiple bullets though

[@GOSTDatingandLifestyle]

I get you, the other replies miss the point in my mind. Even if the bullet moved around in the body it can't curve round to the front of the boys head after leaving the body

[@lawrencedugan]

Wasn’t that an exit wound on the boy’s forehead?

[@PrefixedGaming]

I saw this in the recommended right after Theofficial_SID's video. This was very good though.

[@JynxedKoma]

This film has the best representation of a jump suicide. The loss of limbs is PERFECTLY real for that situation. HOWEVER! Jumpers bodies DO literally bounce as they hit the floor.

[@waltwhitman7545]

to live and die in bruges

[@Jazz-dh2ds]

Man, I got to your channel too late

[@Sunomis]

What's the song at 10:00 ? Thanks

[@OrangeLightnings]

Sunomis On Raglan Road by The Dubliners: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iXfPn6qJr9Cija8

[@Sunomis]

Cool, thanks for answering. And thank you for the interesting essay.

[@howwwwwyyyyy]

Isn't it an old poem about an Angel falling for a mortal woman

[@pachy444]

Brilliant movie. I'd love to know who came up with that line of Harry's when the pregnant Hotel owner suggests they put their guns down & go home. Harry says " Don't be stupid, this is the shootout" ☺

[@TheAwesomoe]

That beginning sure did wake me up, not in a good way

[@ibecomhaire8724]

One of the deleted scenes shows Ken and Harry's history.

[@danisyx5804]

I've seen that scene it's f****** brutal

[@thewingedringer]

I guess hell is spending the rest of your life in Bruges.

[@Flo-qw4jr]

Great video. Although I take issue in you stating that ray dies in the end. That’s something the viewer should decide for themselves. Sure, it’s a very likely outcome, given the fact he has been shot through the chest multiple times. But it’s still open ended.

[@OrangeLightnings]

I agree with you! If I take one interpretation, I like to think Ray lives. The movie ends where it does because, live or die, Ray is serious about following through on his promise to find the mother of the boy. Listening to it again, I may have said it in a confusing way. I didn't intend to stake out a definitive claim on Ray's survival.

[@Flo-qw4jr]

Okay, thanks.

[@katherinea.williams3044]

The fact that he was using past tense words make me doubt his survival, although I very much wanted him to live. Mistake #1- When Harry goes to the canal to shoot, Ray says ‘He’s too far away, no way’ He’s a still target, I don’t know if that was belief or naïveté. I don’t think he made it, but I’d like to think he did. I also liked how he tried to prevent Harry killing himself bc he shot an adult, not Jimmy, who was a man. Another reason I’d like to think he survived.

[@callmeej8399]

@@katherinea.williams3044 upon rewatch I realized the canal shot was kinda stupid, I mean I don’t know where else could’ve gone. Does feel like a mistake

[@katherinea.williams3044]

@@callmeej8399 He could have lied down flat, or moved around to be harder to miss. Like the innocent man who overturned his car in Fargo in the beginning, he got out of the car and ran straight, and the car lights were on him. He’d have a better shot if he zigzagged instead of just running straight in the light. Perhaps I should not have called it a ‘mistake’.

[@RogueCylon]

“Two characters that’s we care about”. I can’t remember a single character that Colin Farrell has portrayed that I cared for. Honestly, not one.

[@NeedMoreCoffeeOG]

Wait... I thought Ray's redemption thoughts at the end were about HARRY'S children and wife. Not about the boy he killed at the start.

[@francisbrodie9140]

Ken is catholic killing himself is the worst thing a catholic can do so it adds more weight, he gets a go to hell card while trying to keep ray out so does that negate what he did?

[@callmeej8399]

You assume Ray is alive

[@mod69]

The6 are making new movie together

[@RollyAces]

0:02 fucking scared me

[@1987MartinT]

There is something ironic about criminals having morals.

[@Onigirli]

Why is it called absurd lol? Is it supposed to be like a play on "The Unexpected Virtue Of Ignorance"? It just sounds strange to me, since everyone already loves redemption. But, great video and great analysis. I love this movie unreservedly

[@OrangeLightnings]

I love the scene where Ken goes to kill Ray, then stops when he realizes Ray is about to kill himself. From there, Ken goes to more extreme lengths to protect Ray, even sacrificing his own life in the end. It's "absurd" that Ken would give everything for Ray, considering how close they both came to taking his life, but it's worth it. Ken can earn his redemption, by giving Ray a shot at his. Birdman's great.

[@Onigirli]

@@OrangeLightnings Much appreciated, I never really considered Ken needing any redemption till now. He did kill that not-Chinese lollipop man too

[@awesomeanimal]

Great job but i wish you wouldn't wear that pixelated tie

[@OrangeLightnings]

Barutha! I want you to know I spent at least 15 minutes thinking about how to respond to someone that dug that deep into my comment history.

[@pauloindaeosrickenbackers]

otimo!

[@Slechy_Lesh]

6:00

[@hurtigheinz3790]

Ray often says "me" instead of "my". Is this an English accent or just how some not so bright English native speakers talk?

[@adamkennedy4846]

It's an Irish thing, we know it's not correct but use it anyways

[@SimplyLimbo]

Actually. They all are in "purgatory". Everyone in the movie has a past full of sins. Ken finds (like the path towards the light, in C.S.Lewis book about purgatory) redemption in the scenery and his faith, he enjoys Bruges, and experience it almost like Harry waters did when he visited Bruges. Colins character sees it as dark, dull, and his mind is also in a dark place, and he suffers from the guilt about killing the kid by accident. Chloe is almost like a 'Sirene', who lures people, (like Circe but different) Harry is the only one who has risen above this duality, and lives by radical principles who are obviously based on "good" principles, and like kids these days say:" He keeps it one hundred". Thats why he indeed killed himself on the spot like he said before if he would have done something like that. There is a religious and philosophical undertone, the paintings, buildings, the fact its the holidays. Etc. I really love this movie. And who noticed the sentence:" "This is the shootout" ? (a reference the producer used in seven psychopaths too at the end with Sam Rockwell)

[@kweejibodali7009]

i was just hoping to see the scene without narration... they are amazing actors and i am not sure they need narration throughout their scene.

[@thesupaspartan444]

Fanominal job bro

[@tommac8556]

the irony

[@ConradKurze]

OMG is Mans the Raider as a priest! They wasted such a fantastic actor for a 5 sec scene!

[@SimplyLimbo]

Youre wrong on so many levels.. watch it again after 5 years...

[@SimplyLimbo]

You are way off. Bad review.

[@seaque.]

you seem to care about it a lot, returning back after one year. What about moving on with your life?

[@orangelighting5633]

In Bruges video and the same name, clearly a man of taste.

[@OrangeLightnings]

Both of us are connoisseurs of naming. Za-za-zing

[@orangelighting5633]

@@OrangeLightnings Za za zing my brother 😂