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Lukas Dhont‘s World War I play Coward received a 13-minute ovation Thursday aft nan lights came up connected its world premiere screening astatine nan Cannes Film Festival. It was 1 of nan biggest responses to a movie successful this year’s title lineup.
The queer romanticist play is nan Belgium-born Dhont’s 2nd characteristic movie successful nan Cannes title pursuing 2022’s Close.
Per nan logline, Coward centers connected Pierre, a worker recently arrived astatine nan beforehand who is eager to beryllium himself. Behind nan lines, he meets Francis, who decides to assistance nan spirits of his comrades by putting together a theatre show. While nan unit continues, some men effort to find ways to flight nan brutality of war, moreover if only for a moment.
Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne prima successful nan film, which Mubi pre-festival acquired for respective world territories including nan UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Latin America, Australia, and New Zealand.
Following nan crowd’s reception, Dhont told nan crowd astatine nan Grand Théâtre Lumière that each should stock “love, not war.”
Deadline’s Pete Hammond successful his review calls Coward “a classical movie emotion communicative for nan ages, successful this lawsuit a queer romance that successful cinematic position feels arsenic universal, and arsenic impossible, as Casablanca, Brief Encounter, and The Way We Were.“
The caller pic marks Dhont’s 3rd clip successful Cannes. He debut pic, Girl, won an grant successful nan festival’s Un Certain Regard conception erstwhile it bowed location successful 2018.
Dhont told Deadline earlier successful nan show that nan inspiration for Coward came from a photograph.
“It’s based connected a black-and-white photograph I recovered 4 years agone of a young man correct down nan frontlines dressed up successful a sandbag skirt performing for nan different soldiers,” he said. “And I thought that it was thing truthful modern successful that picture, moreover though it was achromatic and white, but seeing this young man cross-dressed, smiling successful beforehand of each these different men really inspired maine to create something.
He added, “Bit by bit, while we were writing, 1 point that became incredibly important was this thought of heroism and nan things that we person described arsenic heroic acts. Young men passim centuries, and now besides young women, are sent to fight, and successful a way, I deliberation galore person feared nan explanation of cowardice… We named this film Coward because that fearfulness is simply a topic, but I deliberation besides nan movie questions, what does it really mean to beryllium brave, not only successful narration to another, but besides successful narration to ourselves, successful choosing nan truest parts of ourselves; successful choosing to definitive ourselves, moreover erstwhile nan world astir america expects america to behave aliases to enactment successful a definite way.”
