by Molly Page
Who is the coward?
Is it the Germans on the other side of the battlefield?
Is it Jacobs, who increasingly becomes anxious that he will never meet his kid because he will die in battle?
Is it Pierre, who self-inflicts a wound to get out of the trenches?
Is it Francis, for refusing to love because of fear that he will lose it anyway?
Is it society because they cannot accept two men loving each other?
If so, is anyone really brave?
Coward continues the emotionally driven filmmaking of Lukas Dhont. It is about finding escapism through art and love in the background of World War I. Dhont masterfully contrasts between the moments of laughter and fun with scenes of horrific violence and death to convey the mental state Pierre is under. In one moment, they are acting out a birth- for Jacobs who missed out on his child’s birth because of the war. Eruptions of laughter and mate ship. Cut to night time in the trenches, anticipating every noise, fearful that at any moment conflict could arise.
Emmanuel Macchia’s performance bears the weight of this juxtaposition. His performance requires him to go from singing about smiling on the train to the front, carrying the bodies of his fellow soldiers. The changes in his face as the war goes on are believable and impactful. As Pierre becomes drawn between being a soldier on the front line and a performer in ‘The Band of Rejects.’ Valentin Campagne is also excellent and has to hold a lot of the charisma of the performance scenes.
The intimacy between Pierre and Francis is palpable and tender. Their first kiss above the stage and the leg shaving scene really bring the chemistry. The tragedy of Francis wanting the war to continue so that they can stay together is heartbreaking, even more so by Pierre’s opposing view as someone who has been fighting on the front. Their connection invests the audience into the story and the stakes at hand. In a story set in World War, I this love story feels impossible. It is a testament to Queer people of the past and their difficult odds. How WWI disrupted traditional gender roles and for a pocket of time allowed for gender expression and sexuality. Will they survive the war? Will they get caught? Will they ever get to go to the mountains together like they wanted to? These are what make the plot so engaging.
Alongside this love story is an examination of art, through these theatrical pageants. How it allows for the escapism from the darker aspects in their lives and allows for them to connect. The elaborate costumes, the painted sets, the singing, and the dancing. Of the art and history of the female impersonation that the ‘Rejects’ and many actual performance groups did to boost morale at the front. Most interestingly, Pierre begins to struggle with these performances as he becomes aware of the propagandising lyrics of their shows. The increasing uncomfortableness of encouraging and hyping up soldiers to fight in brutal battles, of which he had experienced. Only emphasised by their performance in the hospital as he is faced with the scarring of the war, of people who have stopped fighting and have lost hope.
Coward is a fresh take on a WWI film, which is emotionally moving and unapologetically romantic and queer.