Early on in Bas Devos’ “Here,” Stefan (Stefan Gota), a Romanian construction worker living in Brussels, stands with a friend, watching the city trains roll by. The friend tells Stefan that the first trains in Europe “came through here.” Later in the film, Stefan stands next to Shuxiu (Liyo Gong), a woman he just met, looking out over the city from the wooded spot they’ve been exploring. After a long silence, he tells her the first trains in Europe “came through here”. There’s no further discussion in either moment. It’s just a small factoid offered up by one friend to another, which is then offered to someone else. The second exchange clarified the first, underlining the significance. In “Here,” what matters is not what is offered, but the act of offering itself.
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