Lukas Dhont was inspired to make “Coward,” a gay love story set in the trenches of World War I, after he came across a series of black-and-white photographs of soldiers staging shows for their fellow troops. As part of the performances, some of the men would crossdress in order to play everything from can-can dancers to love-sick wives to grieving mothers.
“It’s a part of history that I hadn’t seen portrayed before,” Dhont says via Zoom in the days leading up to “Coward’s” Cannes debut. “That got my ideas flowing. I thought, ‘Wow, it would be really special to see these men creating a theater piece while in the background, there are explosions and the war is still going on and there’s death all around them.'”
The resulting film follows Pierre (Emmanuel Macchia), a Belgian soldier whose idealism curdles as he encounters the brutality of battle. As he becomes disillusioned with war, he embarks on a passionate affair with Francis (Valentin Campagne), a fellow soldier who stages gender-bending theatrical pieces in an effort to lift the troops’ spirits. Because of its historical setting, “Coward” offers a much wider canvas than the 34-year-old Dhont has painted on before. His previous works include the”Girl,” a drama about a trans girl trying to become a ballerina, and “Close,” a coming-of-age story about the friendship between two teen boys that earned him an Oscar nomination for best international feature.
