The beginning of the movie bears more than a distant resemblance to Jean-Pierre Denis' s "champ d'honneur" (1987) ;both movies begin with the draft lottery when the conscripts draw sorts ;if a rich man has drawn a bad number ,he can buy a "replacement", generally a poor boy who finds it hard to make both ends meet.
But the Flemish 's attitude is diametrically opposite to those of the French ,particularly the peasants ,who think that to be a soldier is a sacred duty and they laugh at the cowards who try to duck service ;the Flemish are much more reluctant ,they fear that they may be drafted and leave their family on their own (see Jan's girlfriend on the plough );one of them even rebels against that blood tax: what's the point of fighting an enemy they don't even know (there's an officer's very brief hint at the Hollanders and that's it)?
"The laws are good to the rich " says the hero ;for the people,beasts of burden at peace ,cannon fodder when their power-to -be demands it ; and religion as a solace :when their prayers remain unanswered , the parents ,who accept the draft ,ask their conscript to obey his chiefs even if they are wrong ,and mom asks him to remain pious.
Jan is a willing conscript,but he's ignorant : urine to cure a VD ! In the second part of his martyrdom ,Jan is joined by his fiancée ,and she,too , will share his sufferings ; then again religion and the pilgrimage are a delusion ,the opium of the people. The "good" commander's wife does something to help the poor couple,but her bourgeois conscience can be eased at little expense ;ditto for the doctor who mentions philosophers Voltaire ,Rousseau and Montesquieu who should have ruled the countries ,but finally leaves them to their own.
This is a classic movie, simply told ,without today's pretensions : beautiful pictures ,restrained but convincing acting ,enhanced by fine classical music .
It is a tale of suffering and it's almost a miracle that after such an agony,Jan can still find a reason to believe.
But the Flemish 's attitude is diametrically opposite to those of the French ,particularly the peasants ,who think that to be a soldier is a sacred duty and they laugh at the cowards who try to duck service ;the Flemish are much more reluctant ,they fear that they may be drafted and leave their family on their own (see Jan's girlfriend on the plough );one of them even rebels against that blood tax: what's the point of fighting an enemy they don't even know (there's an officer's very brief hint at the Hollanders and that's it)?
"The laws are good to the rich " says the hero ;for the people,beasts of burden at peace ,cannon fodder when their power-to -be demands it ; and religion as a solace :when their prayers remain unanswered , the parents ,who accept the draft ,ask their conscript to obey his chiefs even if they are wrong ,and mom asks him to remain pious.
Jan is a willing conscript,but he's ignorant : urine to cure a VD ! In the second part of his martyrdom ,Jan is joined by his fiancée ,and she,too , will share his sufferings ; then again religion and the pilgrimage are a delusion ,the opium of the people. The "good" commander's wife does something to help the poor couple,but her bourgeois conscience can be eased at little expense ;ditto for the doctor who mentions philosophers Voltaire ,Rousseau and Montesquieu who should have ruled the countries ,but finally leaves them to their own.
This is a classic movie, simply told ,without today's pretensions : beautiful pictures ,restrained but convincing acting ,enhanced by fine classical music .
It is a tale of suffering and it's almost a miracle that after such an agony,Jan can still find a reason to believe.