The Last Front: 2024 Belgian Epic Period Action Drama Film

The Last Front – 2024 Belgian History Action Drama Film – directed by Julien Hayet-Kerknawi – about World War I chaos, a grieving father turns hero, leading villagers to safety

Movie Name: The Last Front
Directed by: Julien Hayet-Kerknawi
Starring: Iain Glen, Sasha Luss, Joe Anderson, David Calder, Koen De Bouw
Genre: Action, Drama, History, War
Running Time: 98 Minutes
Release Date: 09 August, 2024
Rating:
Production Companies: –
Budget: –

The Last Front: Movie Overview

The Last Front is a Belgian epic period action drama film written and directed by Julien Hayet-Kerknawi. Set during World War I, it follows a widower farmer-come-war-hero, Leonard (Iain Glen) and his family as they are thrown into the midst of a war they do not understand. It is set during the first days of the conflict as the German war machine advances, and during what came to be known as the Rape of Belgium.

It is set during World War I and follows Leonard as he is driven to spearhead a resistance and protect his community during the German invasion of Belgium.

The Last Front builds on the short film A Broken Man that Kerknawi made in 2015 and which received international recognition, being selected to screen at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival as well as winning an award at the WorldFest film festival in Houston.

The Last Front delves into themes of lost connections, grief, and the complexity of human nature amidst the chaos of war. By focusing on the nuanced interactions between characters, the film offers a contemplative look at war, emphasising the internal battles faced by individuals as much as the physical conflicts that surround them.

Hayet-Kerknawi said he deliberately wanted to move away from the usual tropes of World War I movies. “No trenches, no left-side Allies, right-side Germans” he said. “I want to show the people how the people themselves handled the First World War, how they had to fight and struggle.”

The Last Front had its world premiere at Kinepolis in Ghent on 1 February 2024. The film was released in Belgium on 7 February 2024, with plans for future releases in other territories yet to be disclosed.

Movie Trailer:

Movie Review:

The Last Front review – old fashioned first world war drama fights familiar battle

Iain Glen is a sturdy presence leading a Belgian village’s resistance to the German advance, but there are limp scenes and soggy cliches aplenty

Starting off with that forgettable title, this is a creaky drama that plods blandly through the fictional story of a Belgian farmer leading his village’s resistance to a plundering unit of Germans at the outbreak of the first world war. It all feels a bit familiar, and matters are not helped by the fact that the actors playing Belgians and Germans are all speaking in English in an assortment of accents. Oddly, some accents are more accenty than others; the German characters are all unmistakably German.

Game of Thrones’s Iain Glen is the film’s heavyweight, bringing a muscular presence to the role of the farmer, Leonard Lambert. At the beginning of the film, Leonard’s biggest worry is his son’s romance with the posh doctor’s daughter. But worse is to come when Germans march into the village en route to invading France. The German commander (Philippe Brenninkmeyer) gives orders to his men to take only what’s necessary, no bloodshed. That’s ignored by his own son Laurentz (Joe Anderson), a character in the cinematic tradition of swaggeringly evil German officers, a cruel sadist who commits a terrible atrocity. It’s the movie’s best scene, shockingly killing off a character I’d complacently assumed would be in it for the duration. The violence itself is muted; this is screen warfare at its most tactful, eyes averted from the grisly bits.