Deserteurs
2023 · 23m · Belgium
Directed by Landerik Boie
Tones: contemplative, provocative, tense
A young Belgian soldier abandons the army during wartime and hides in a small barn, only to discover it is already occupied by a German deserter. After an initial confrontation, the two men form an unlikely friendship as they grapple with the moral costs of war.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
Two enemies bond in a barn, war is bad — I have seen this exact film since I was old enough to roll my eyes. The disappearing-credits gimmick is the only thing here I haven't seen forty times.
The Belgian-German barn two-hander is a worn premise, but the closing credits gesture — letting names dissolve — promises something more formally considered than the average WWI student exercise. I am cautiously curious.
Two-hander confined to a single barn at 22 minutes is the right runtime to let distrust slowly mutate into connection without overstaying. The €6,000 LUCA student budget and the disappearing-names closing credit suggests the directorial decisions are conceptually disciplined.