---
title: "Coward"
year: 2026
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/coward"
fi1m_id: "coward"
imdb_id: "tt39328391"
tmdb_id: 1437981
wikidata_id: "Q138793955"
fi1m_score: 66
critics_score: 66
critics_reviews: 11
published: "2026-10-25"
updated: "2026-10-25T10:15:50.342893+00:00"
region: "BR"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Coward (2026)

Directed by Lukas Dhont · 2h 00m · ClassInd 16 · Drama, Romance, War

## Identity

Coward

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/coward
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** coward
- **IMDb ID:** tt39328391
- **TMDB ID:** 1437981
- **Wikidata ID:** Q138793955
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt39328391/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/1437981, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138793955

**Fi1m score: 66** · Critics 66 from 11 reviews

*In a sentence:* The soldiers sing, the lovers hesitate, and the film keeps checking that we have noticed

> Lukas Dhont’s *Coward* has a believable romance and committed leads in Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne. Its scenes of soldiers making music move us, but the scattered storytelling and repetitive interludes keep it from becoming a satisfying war drama.

## Synopsis

During the Great War, Pierre (Emmanuel Macchia) finds himself drawn to Francis (Valentin Campagne). Their attachment develops amid trenches and battlefield violence, with the fighting leaving little room for a private life. A soldiers’ troupe puts on a performance, bringing song and dance into the men’s military surroundings. Pierre wants to be close to Francis while the war continues to dictate the conditions of their lives. The ensemble also includes Jozef Stevens (Jef Jacobs), as the men look for occasions to gather for something other than fighting.

## Review

Lukas Dhont’s *Coward* is a decent war romance, sustained by its actors and held back by a story that keeps losing momentum. Set during the Great War, it makes room for attraction, singing and dancing without treating pleasure as an insult to the suffering around it. The idea is welcome, and the central relationship gives it enough feeling to matter. But the screenplay by Lukas Dhont and Angelo Tijssens does not find enough for these men to do across two hours.

Emmanuel Macchia plays Pierre and Valentin Campagne plays Francis, and their attraction is the chief reason to stay with the film. The way they watch one another makes the wish to be close believable, even when they seem unsure how to proceed. Francis is the more readily understood of the pair, while Pierre remains harder to know. That unevenness becomes a problem when the film asks us to care equally about them. Emmanuel Macchia is left to suggest more than the writing supplies.

The early performance by the soldiers’ troupe gives the film a more immediate purpose. We were moved by the sight of men making a show for one another while the war continues around them. For a while, there is an audience to please and something other than danger to occupy their attention. The singing and dancing let the men enjoy being together, and that shared pleasure makes their need for companionship easy to understand.

Frank van den Eeden’s cinematography makes the contrast between private affection and battlefield violence clear without needing dialogue to explain it. The attention given to the men’s closeness is welcome, although the care taken over the images sometimes makes their danger feel too neatly presented. The period detail is persuasive, and Eve Martin’s production design deserves credit for giving the soldiers a believable setting. That care does not always help the drama, particularly when the surroundings receive attention that Pierre could have used.

Valentin Hadjadj provides the music, and the prominence of song is central to what the film wants us to feel. The trouble is how often it returns to that pleasure without finding much more to say about it. The repeated songs begin to slow the film down. Alain Dessauvage’s editing moves between passages that are affecting on their own but do not always develop one another. As the film goes on, that looseness becomes harder to overlook.

For a war romance, the possibility of separation can only do so much. The relationship needs enough detail to make its difficulties particular to these people, rather than things we accept because the fighting makes everything precarious. The later stretch loses dramatic tension, though the performances remain committed. By then, the film has established its sympathy for Pierre and Francis so firmly that it risks repeating a feeling instead of giving either man room to change.

Lukas Dhont’s care for these men is evident, and the film never treats their wish for affection as something requiring an apology. That is reason enough to take it seriously, even when its careful presentation becomes frustrating. The actors seem capable of handling more difficult scenes together than the writing allows them. Consider it for the performances, with patience for a story that gives its leads less to work with than they deserve.

*Fi1m score 66, published 25 October 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics lean towards a favourable view of Coward, with praise concentrated on its tentative wartime romance and the performances of Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne. Their chemistry is the main point of agreement among the positive reviews, which find tenderness and sensitivity in Dhont’s treatment of queer belonging. The cinematography’s contrast between intimacy and battlefield violence also earns praise, while some critics value the soldiers’ music and performance as expressions of resilience.

The reservations concern familiar war-film conventions, excessive decorum and uneven storytelling, including a loss of tension in the final third. The spread is wide: several reviews find the romance moving despite those limitations, while The Wrap admires the period research but finds the narrative insufficiently developed. The Hollywood Reporter is the sharpest dissent, rejecting the chemistry others praise and finding the film emotionally hollow, its songs repetitive and its approach overly mannered.

## Straight answers

**Is Coward worth watching?**

*Coward* is worth considering for its believable romance and committed lead performances, though its scattered storytelling limits our recommendation; we score it 66 out of 100. We are moved by the soldiers making music together, but repeated songs slow the drama, making this better suited to patient admirers of war romances than anyone seeking sustained tension.

**How long is Coward, and what is it rated?**

*Coward* runs 2h 00m and is rated 16 by the ClassInd in Brazil. It is a drama and romance film.

**Where can I watch Coward in Brazil?**

*Coward* is not on any streaming or rental service in Brazil at the moment. Availability is checked daily.

**How violent or frightening is Coward, and is it suitable for children?**

*Coward* contains battlefield violence amid a Great War romance, but no UK or US certificate is supplied, so we cannot give a firm age recommendation. The review establishes the presence of violence without detailing its intensity or explicitness; that leaves too little information to recommend it for children or reassure squeamish viewers.

### Reviews we read (11)

- **Variety**, Guy Lodge (85/100, inferred): Lodge calls it Dhont’s most satisfying film to date, praising its tender, sensual love story amid the brutality of war. He singles out the leads’ chemistry and the film’s sensitive portrayal of how men watch and respond to one another. [Read](https://variety.com/2026/film/reviews/coward-review-1236755689/)
- **IndieWire**, Ryan Lattanzio (B): Lattanzio finds the film lovely and often breathtaking, though overly decorous and familiar as a war movie. He praises the first-time actors’ performances and the cinematography’s contrast between intimate scenes and battlefield carnage. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/coward-review-lukas-dhont-1235195618/)
- **Little White Lies**, Hannah Strong (75/100, inferred): The review finds Dhont’s wartime drama a promising, increasingly restrained work. It praises the lead actors’ tentative romance and the film’s careful handling of queer belonging. [Read](https://www.lwlies.com/cannes-film-festival/coward-first-look-review)
- **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (65/100, inferred): Bradshaw finds the wartime romance heartfelt and valuable, though somewhat predictable. He singles out the committed performances of Valentin Campagne and Emmanuel Macchia for praise. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/may/22/coward-review-soldiers-find-escapism-and-romance-in-wartime-theatrical-troupe)
- **Screen Daily**, Tim Grierson (64/100, inferred): The headline presents the film as an intimate queer drama set amid the horrors of war. The standfirst singles out newcomers Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne, but the review text is unavailable to assess its verdict further. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/coward-review-two-belgian-soldiers-are-drawn-together-amid-the-horrors-of-war-in-lukas-dhonts-intimate-queer-drama/5217102.article)
- **Time Out**, Phil de Semlyen (3/5): The review presents the film as a tender queer love story set against the horrors of the Great War. It singles out Dhont’s portrayal of love amid the trenches. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/coward-review-2026)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, David Rooney (20/100, inferred): Rooney finds the film emotionally hollow and overly mannered, with its queer wartime romance failing to convince. He singles out the repetitive songs and the leads’ lack of chemistry as key weaknesses. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/coward-review-lukas-dhont-1236602728/)
- **The Skinny**, Iana Murray (★★★★): Murray finds the film gentler and more euphoric than Dhont’s earlier work. She especially praises the lead performances and the chemistry between Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne. [Read](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/cannes-2026-coward)
- **Deadline**, PH (75/100, inferred): The critic presents Coward as a moving celebration of human resilience amid war’s horrors. They single out its focus on the need to sing and dance even in the worst circumstances. [Read](https://deadline.com/2026/05/cannes-2026-movie-reviews-1236887972/)
- **The Playlist**, Gregory Ellwood (B+/B): Ellwood finds the film’s central romance moving and its lead actors’ connection unusually electric, though the final third loses dramatic tension. He especially praises the chemistry between Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne and the early performance scene staged by the soldiers’ troupe. [Read](https://theplaylist.net/coward-review-lukas-dhont-chronicles-love-and-pain-on-the-frontlines-of-the-great-war-cannes-20260522/)
- **The Wrap** (60/100, inferred): The review finds the film subversive and richly researched, but more like a scrapbook than a fully developed narrative. It praises the period detail and musical history while noting that Pierre’s story never gets under the skin as intuitively as Francis’s. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/movies/coward-review-cannes-lukas-dhont/)

## Details

- **Director:** Lukas Dhont
- **Director:** Lukas Dhont
- **Screenplay:** Lukas Dhont, Angelo Tijssens
- **Cinematography:** Frank van den Eeden
- **Editor:** Alain Dessauvage
- **Music:** Valentin Hadjadj
- **Production design:** Eve Martin
- **Costume design:** Isabel Van Renterghem
- **Producer:** Michiel Dhont
- **Cast:** Emmanuel Macchia as Pierre; Valentin Campagne as Francis; Jef Jacobs as Jozef Stevens; Willem De Schryver as Jacobs; Liam Jacqmin as Blanckaert; Mistral Guidotti as Gustaaf Cooreman; Jonas Wertz as Jozef; Boris Bouchat as Thomas
- **Runtime:** 2h 00m
- **Certificate (ClassInd):** 16
- **Release (Brazil):** 31 December 2026
- **Genres:** Drama, Romance, War
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wF_pSyIW8I0

## Where to watch in Brazil

Not streaming, renting or buying in Brazil at the last check.

## If you liked this

- *Benediction* (2021): For another queer perspective on war, artistic expression and the difficulty of intimacy.
- *Great Freedom* (2021): For intimacy developing under institutional cruelty, with close attention to its central performances.
- *Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence* (1983): For desire and military discipline brought into uncomfortable proximity.
- *The Wounded Man* (1983): For a harsher French treatment of queer longing and vulnerability.
- *A Very Long Engagement* (2004): For romance shaped by the Great War and the search for an absent lover.

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/coward