Following the Grand Prix–winning Close, Belgian filmmaker Lukas Dhont returned to the Cannes competition with a film that explores how war reshapes identity, intimacy, and the very idea of courage. In Coward, set during World War I, Dhont uses the backdrop of trench warfare not only to depict fear as a natural response to institutionalized slaughter, but also to examine repressed emotional and sexual intimacy among soldiers, where bonds formed under extreme conditions become both lifelines and sources of danger within rigid military hierarchies. Through Pierre and Francis, the film interrogates what it means to be labeled a “lâche,” suggesting that masculinity itself can function as a performance—both literal, through staged theatrical acts within the war setting, and social, through the expectations imposed on soldiers. Winner of the Best Actor award in Cannes shared by its two leads, Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne, it was during a roundtable interview in which I had the opportunity to ask Lukas about the significance of the title and how it shaped the production. Mubi landed North American rights to the film which will likely play at further prestige fests. Here is the audio.
