A Belgian farmer fights to save his family and fellow villagers from a ruthless German soldier at the dawn of World War I. The last front The film depicts the horrific slaughter of innocent civilians with raw realism and poetic contrast to their genteel rural lives. Director and co-writer Julian Hayt Kirknauy evokes a Terrence Malick character as we hear the torn protagonist and the inner thoughts of his ruthless antagonist. War forces peaceful men to violence while also feeding the worst instincts of the ruthless invader. The last front The film doesn't quite succeed in every aspect of its artistic purpose, but it is a powerful emotional experience.
Set in Flanders, Belgium, in August 1914, Commander Maximilian von Rauch (Philip Brenninkmeier) leads a battalion of German soldiers into rural villages. His son, Lieutenant Lorenz (Joe Anderson), sees no distinction between enemy soldiers and civilians. After one of his men is shot by a sniper, he executes women and children. Rauch rebukes him for his actions and his angry temper. They risk turning everyone into their enemy with this cruel crime.
A few miles away, Leonard Lambert (Iain Glen) mourns his dead wife (Trinity Thielen). He watches Johanna (Emma Dupont), his devoted teenage daughter, working in the fields and washing clothes. Where has his son disappeared to? Adrian (James Downey) lies under a tree reciting poetry to a smitten Louise (Sasha Luss). The daughter of the wealthy town doctor (Quinn de Bouw) knows that neither of their parents would approve. Adrian doesn't care. They're getting married anyway.
Nice life broken
Leonard goes to town on the advice of Father Michael (David Calder). Everyone knows that the Germans are advancing towards them. The people are afraid and will certainly look to Leonard when the enemy arrives. Leonard has no interest in war. He has fields to harvest and a prodigal son to rule. Leonard returns home to talk to his son and Louise. Their conversation is interrupted by Johanna's piercing screams. She is grabbed by a German soldier.
The last front Rauch does not initially paint all Germans with the same vile brush. Rauch believes in the rules of war. He is appalled by what Lorenz has become, but he does not absolve him of his duty. Harsh verbal rebukes do nothing to stop the rampage. The drunken, belligerent Lorenz regards his father as an old fool. They are taking losses because the locals are treacherous collaborators. All are fighters who must be pacified by any means necessary. They are less than human scum and deserve what is coming.
Leonard, like many villagers, naively hoped that the Germans would distinguish between them and the Belgian army. He never imagined that they would be slaughtered like animals. The scenes were difficult to watch. Heit Kerkenau, who adapted the film from his award-winning short film, did not hesitate to show the brutal looting of an idyllic paradise. The once quaint streets were now littered with the corpses of the terrified.
forced to fight
Leonard is haunted by his wife’s presence as he struggles to kill. He must battle his own nature to match Lorenz’s unbridled sadism. Glenn, a revered actor brimming with screen charm, elevates Kirknawy’s life story with compelling body language. You see him physically transform from petrified fear to deadly purpose. The change is certainly dramatic and achieves that goal, but it needs better explanation. He takes the lead, as Father Michael had hoped. But the film never explains why the villagers respect Leonard, when he initially seemed like someone minding his own business. The last front The second act takes a predictable path with Leonard rising to the bloody occasion.
Louise embodies the will that survivors need to carry on after the unthinkable. A life of privilege and true love shattered to pieces. Her character’s story is the most compelling and heartfelt. Those fleeing war must save themselves, but they remain haunted by the loss of loved ones and the horrors they witnessed. Kirknaway’s life gives Luce a stunning dramatic monologue near the film’s climax as she tries to hide from Lorenz’s men. How could such a beautiful day in nature be stained with the blood of such terrible hatred? Her words are a searing indictment of humanity’s insatiable taste for destruction. Luce continues to evolve as an actress with her most dramatic performance yet.
The last front This film depicts the devastation of war and rightly indicts those who revel in its brutality. Leonard is the expected heroic figure in the straightforward narrative, but Lorentz is the most notorious perpetrator. He is the monster no longer restrained and allowed to rampage in the name of victory. His father’s disappointment rings hollow as the bodies are allowed to pile up. War crimes do not occur in a vacuum. The perpetrators spread terror because they are empowered.
The last front The film is produced by Zilvermeer Productions and The Last Front BV. It is currently in limited theatrical release from Enigma Releasing. You can watch the trailer below.
