A careworn mother trudges around a supermarket with two of her kids, her face the very picture of resignation and boredom, at the start of Moscow, Belgium.

But moments later Matty — played to perfection by Barbara Sarafian — is transformed into a feisty female who rips young lorry driver Johnny (Jurgen Delnaet) to shreds with her tongue when her car and his truck collide in the supermarket car park and he launches into a tirade against women.

Her furious reaction to his rant calms Johnny down — and piques his interest. He turns up at Matty's tower block apartment, home to her and her three children since her foppish art teacher husband left her for a younger model, and persuades her to join him for a drink.

The love affair that follows between the 41-year-old faded beauty and the angry young man in his late twenties is utterly believable — in fact, depressingly so. For Matty is desperate to be desired again and even discovering Johnny's dark secret doesn't deter her from becoming entangled with him.

The title of the film highlights the ultimate irrelevance of the setting — since this is a story which could unfold in any town, anywhere in the world. It's a small slice of life, predicated on the idea that we are all looking for love and will grasp at whatever chance at it we get.

The dialogue occasionally veers into dodgy territory — such as when Johnny tells Matty she's his only hope of happiness during their first date. Do people really talk this way after one drink? His comparison of her to Mona Lisa also feels slightly clunking — especially when we discover she's been sketched numerous times over the years by her husband.

But overall, the sparks that fly between the couple feel real and Sarafian is fascinating to watch. There is one beautiful, silent scene when she gazes at her naked body in the mirror after her first tryst with the younger man. Even when saying nothing, she manages to convey so much.

The plot centres on whether Matty will choose volatile Johnny over her philandering spouse, who decides he wants to come home. The obvious alternative — choose neither — doesn't appear to be an option.

Christophe Van Rompaey's film is engrossing, even if its apparent conclusion — that Matty would rather be with a man treating her badly than alone — is hardly empowering.

But, of course, in Moscow, Belgium and the world over, that's often exactly how it is.