With LGBTQ+ stories so rare in the filmography of World War I, it’s a rare and welcome perspective -- as well as another showcase for a gifted young filmmaker.

Dhont expertly handles the tension between the homosocial and the homoerotic, and if his honey-toned visual style sometimes leans toward fussiness, it’s counterbalanced by the brutality of the combat sequences.

What really sinks Coward is the self-conscious grandiosity with which the director strains for lofty emotional peaks in moments that instead come off as hollow and artificial.

Perhaps true cowardice lies in accepting the orders that lead us to death, while courage begins when we find something worth living for. Coward understands that, even amidst barbarity, love can open a small door to freedom. [Full review in Spanish]