📽️ What is Here?

Here (2023), directed by Bas Devos, is a poetic meditation on the everyday. Eschewing traditional dramatic structures, the film flows with the quiet rhythm of life itself.

The story follows Stefan, a Romanian construction worker in Brussels, who, on the verge of returning home, meets Shuxiu, a Belgian-Chinese bryologist studying moss—those tiny, verdant worlds often overlooked beneath our feet. Their chance encounter sets off a contemplative exploration of the city’s hidden beauty, reminding us that wonder often resides in the unlikeliest of places.

The film’s deliberate pacing and naturalistic portrayal evoke the sensation of observing unedited slices of life, as if we are peering through a window into another world. This approach illuminates the film’s central question: What is here? By shifting our focus to the present, we uncover beauty in the ordinary—a revelation as surprising as the intricate details of moss revealed under a microscope.

Shuxiu’s study of moss—a humble organism thriving unnoticed, a miniature ecosystem hiding in plain sight—feels like a metaphor for the film’s portrayal of human connections. It suggests that beauty and meaning emerge when we pause to observe and appreciate the world around us, when we take time to notice the quiet miracles blooming in the unassuming corners of existence.