Can there be peace to find when the war comes knocking? Is it craven to run?
Set in Belgium during the First World War, Lukas Dhont's Coward is a testament to the power of love, art, and imagination in trying times. It follows Pierre (Emmanuel Macchia), a new recruit, as he comes to terms with the cruelty of war and slowly finds comfort in helping Francis (Valentin Campagne) stage performances to boost morale.
One of Coward's greatest strengths is its blend of tranquillity and horror. It does not shy away from depicting the atrocities of war, showing the graphic injuries the soldiers sustain in the field and the mental toll it takes on those who come back with fewer people than they left with. In the trenches, recruits beg their friends to crawl back to them, knowing damn well they're dead, and in the camp, drinking songs of 'fighting the Huns' turn into violent beatings of captured enemy troops. In the latter scene there is a harrowing image of a German soldier with a thousand-yard stare so intense it burns itself into your mind.
But where there is suffering, there is also solace, which comes in the form of Francis and his band of rejects. Francis performs music and stage plays in a barn, on a makeshift stage that Pierre helps build. Through yearning glances, they slowly fall in love, creating some of the most romantic scenes put to screen this year. Emmanuel Macchia, in his screen debut, gives Pierre this look of pure infatuation whenever he looks at Francis that brings tears to your eyes.
This balance between heart-wrenching depictions of war and the raw emotional love story of Pierre and Francis creates an incredibly affecting narrative that purposefully plays with the audience's emotions, throwing them between despair and hope. It is no surprise then that Coward is Belgium's official entry for the 2026 Oscars in the Best International Feature Film category. It definitely deserves the recognition.
Coward is brave enough to say there is peace to discover in even the most dire situations; you only need the guts to find it.
Support our work
You can subscribe to the OBSCURAE newsletter for free, or become a paid Aficionado for £5/month to help fund independent coverage, contributor fees, site hosting, and admin costs.