For a Lost Soldier (1992)
"Voor een verloren soldaat" (original title)

Set in The Netherlands at the end of WW II, this touching story, told in flashbacks, explores the complex and romantic relationship between an adult soldier and a displaced, lonely adolescent boy.

Director:

Roeland Kerbosch

Writers:

Don Bloch, Rudi van Dantzig (novel),

Stars:

Maarten Smit, Jeroen Krabbé, Andrew Kelley

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Maarten Smit	...	Jeroen Boman - jong
Jeroen Krabbé	...	Jeroen Boman - oud
Andrew Kelley	...	Walt Cook
Freark Smink	...	Hait
Elsje de Wijn	...	Mem
Derk-Jan Kroon	...	Jan
Wiendelt Hooijer	...	Henk
Iris Misset	...	Bonden
Gineke de Jager	...	Elly
Tatum Dagelet	...	Gertie
Marie-José Kouwenhoven	...	Renske
Valerie Valentine	...	Laura
William Sutton	...	Chuck
Andrew Butling	...	Buikspreker
Andrew Cassani	...	Winslow

Storyline

The story of a romantic relationship between a grown-up and a child. Set in the Netherlands near the end of WWII, the film is a flashback recalling an adolescent relationship between Jeroen and a Canadian soldier. A difficult subject handled with style and feeling.

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Plot Keywords:

soldier | netherlands | canadian | told in flashback | controversial | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | War

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Details

Country:

Netherlands

Language:

Dutch German

Release Date:

7 May 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

For a Lost Soldier

Box Office

Gross:

$386,329 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

AVRO Television, Sigma Film Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White (newsreel archive footage) Color

Did You Know?

Goofs

In the truck, when Gertie soils herself, one of the boys says that from now on she will be known as "Dirty Girtie." However, although this rhymes when spoken in English, the characters where speaking Dutch, with English subtitles shown, and it does not rhyme in Dutch, which is clearly what was intended for humorous effect.

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Quotes

Walt Cook: [before making love to Jeroen] I love you... my prince. You're mine.

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Connections

References Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

User Reviews

This is a thoughtful, tasteful look at a forbidden subject.

With all the furor over "Lolita," one might think a film such as "For a Lost Soldier," the story of a barely pubescent Dutch boy who has a sexual affair with a Canadian soldier in the closing days of WWII, would raise a few eyebrows as well. Perhaps there is a different standard for the relationship between an "older" man (albeit, in this case, an older man barely out of his teens) and a child. But, for those inclined to explore this issue on film, "For a Lost Soldier" does an admirable job of making such a relationship seem acceptable, and perhaps even inevitable, in view of the hysteria that accompanied the Liberation of Europe by the Allied troops. The relationship between Walt and Jaroen seems particularly idyllic when contrasted with those of Walt's comrades-in-arms with the village girls, who graduate almost overnight from schoolgirls to strumpets. If a book version exists, I look forward to reading it.