by Alex Billington
May 21, 2026
“Love not war.” Who are the real cowards of war? Is it the soldiers? Is it the men who get too scared to fight and run away because they want to live? Or is it the generals and the captains and all the warlords dictating orders from a safe distance? Or is it the politicians sending their citizens to death? It doesn’t matter who is labeled a “coward” and why – these soldiers don’t deserve to go off to war and die. They deserve to live. And we should always be fighting for love not war – no matter the situation, no matter the battle being fought. I am pleased to report that the new film made by Belgian director Lukas Dhont is sensational. Coward is his third feature film so far and it’s magnificent, showing us how love matters more than anything else on this planet. The film is Dhont’s most ambitious creation yet, taking us into the trenches of World War I to tell a tender, heartfelt love story between two Belgian soldiers. Another enchanting film by Dhont featuring all of his earmarks – stunning cinematography, a wonderful score, and such majestic performances from the entire cast. Gay cinema reigns! I fell for this film and got swept away by its 2 hour journey into hell & back.
Coward is directed by award-winning Belgian filmmaker Lukas Dhont, who almost won the Palme d’Or back in 2022 with his last film Close. The screenplay for this one is written by Lukas Dhont & Angelo Tijssens. It’s set in 1916, during The Great War in Europe, following a group of soldiers who arrive on the Belgian front. The camera spends its time focused on the face of the young Pierre, starring Emmanuel Macchia. As we have seen in other great war movies like 1917 and All Quiet on the Western Front, the boys arrive in the war amped up, ready to fight for their country, only to be thrown right into hell. Not only the trenches, not only all the death, but life as a soldier is miserable and disheartening. To keep the spirits up, a brigade of soldiers starts a theater revue and organizes a show for the other young soldiers at the front. The first performance is basically a drag show with the men playing women to tease the others for fun. Their leader is the young and flamboyant Francis, played exquisitely by Valentin Campagne, who catches the eye of Pierre. As the war wages on, the two begin to build a quiet connection that keeps them alive and keeps their hearts beating. It’s a continuation of the “tenderness is the new punk” trend at Cannes focusing on their so beautiful love story.
Even though Dhont’s Coward is yet another World War I film repeating many of the same beats & scenes from many other World War I classics, it still stands out in its own unique ways. And I love spending time in Dhont’s films, watching his characters interact, seeing their emotions on display. He is a tender filmmaker and this makes all the difference in what he puts on screen. Coward is also much bigger and more intense than anything Dhont has made before. He handles this story and this setting with grace & humility, pushing himself as a filmmaker to take on this story and make it accurate. However, he also allows the beauty of the romance to burn bright. There’s also the other side of the film which is the group of soldiers who put on the performances. Coward provides a moving look at how art and expression and performance can bring truly vital joy & solace amidst the horrors of the times you’re in. Entrancing to watch these scenes. It’s presented so naturally, so organically with these soldiers. Even though this film is about this specific experience in WWI, I feel the film is a reminder that no matter what awful things are happening all around us, we can find such meaningful relief and such exciting beauty in artistic expression; in human beings entertaining others.
It’s remarkable how similar this film is to Ira Sachs’ The Man I Love (also playing in the Main Competition at this year’s Cannes Film Festival). Both films are about the power of art and performance when things are bad. Coward is also connected in many thematic ways to two other Cannes 2026 favorites: La Bola Negra (a monumental Spanish triptych of gay stories) and Flesh & Fuel (another tender gay love story). I continue to believe Lukas Dhont is a magnificent filmmaker with a real special cinematic eye. It’s especially invigorating to notice this connection between these four films at Cannes, as it speaks to the real power of these stories and what they’re trying to say: to bring us back to the power of love and how vital it is to our existence. Cinema is at its most beautiful expressing that love. Valentin Campagne is absolutely transcendent in this film, his performance here is one for the ages. I felt so much for him, I could sense every feeling within him in every scene. Most touching of all is watching the two of them build their love across the war and across time –reconnecting in a finale that will leave every person watching this wiping away tears. Love love love.
Alex’s Cannes 2026 Rating: 9 out of 10
Follow Alex on Twitter – @firstshowing / Or Letterboxd – @firstshowing
