Moscow, Belgium

“I want a peaceful life,” says Matty (Barbara Sarafian), the attractive 41-year-old mother of three at the center of Christophe van Rompaey‘s terrific Moscow, Belgium. But when we first meet her, trudging through a megastore in a working-class neighborhood in Belgium, she seems far from attaining that simple goal and looks like she's just about given up. Little wonder: her husband is openly having an affair but insists on staying married; as for the kids, as Matty puts it, “my oldest daughter is an adolescent, my youngest daughter thinks she's an adolescent, and my son wishes he was.” Things go from bleak to bummer when she collides in the parking lot with a truck driven by 29-year-old Johnny (Jurgen Delnaet). He's churlish and insulting in the ensuing argument, but Matty's not about to back down. When he starts to flirt, she's merely bemused (“You know what they say,” she scoffs. “Big truck, little sparkplug”). But one thing leads to another, and Matty soon finds herself torn between her spouse and Johnny, the latter a recovering alcoholic who's been in prison for spousal abuse. While neither is a great catch, wry and sharp Matty is ultimately no man's fool. Nicely balancing comedy, drama, and romance, Moscow, Belgium is highly recommended. (S. Graham)