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In his essay about Baudelaire, but especially in the unfinished 'Passagen-Werk', Walter Benjamin analysed and commented upon the origins of the Metropole, whereby he was thinking of 19th century Paris. Stefaan Decostere seems to have the same intention considering his commentary which accompanies three short impressions of the city of Brussels. Using the matrix image of the television as a metaphor for rapidly flowing impressions, we see the megalomanic epigonism of King Leopold II: he had the habit of duplicating in Brussels the monuments that he ran across during his travels. As a second 'entrance', the Tropical Museum: the countless exotic objects that once formed part of a significant cultural connection, are now rubricated and categorised in a collection and can only be used visually. More or less as one looks at window displays. The third and last part shows us the carefree look at progress prevailing in the fifties with the Atomium as the radiant central point.
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Henny Kamphuizen
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Camera: Robert van Dromme, Staf vanden Bergen, Johan de Handschutter, Dirk de Kerf, Bart Uyttenhove, Editing & effects, Sound editing: Michel Coqette, Production: Annie Declerck/BRT
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