Coward

The boys on the front lines of WWI like to joke around, tease each other, and get up to childish mischief. How else are they supposed to stay sane amid the trenches and death? Rather than fighting, young Francis takes on the role of entertainer. Together with a group of fellow soldiers, he forms a theatre troupe to help the others forget the war's brutality, if only for a moment. Besides, he can indulge in his penchant for cross-dressing on the stage. His free spirit immediately enchants Pierre, and a fragile relationship begins to cautiously bloom between them. In the shadow of war, they create a safe nook where they can be themselves. But what happens when the battles end and the two men return to a world governed by old rules and ingrained ideas of masculinity? The new film by Lukas Dhont, director of Girl and Close, competed at the Cannes Film Festival, where Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne jointly received the Best Actor Award.