Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Wilfried Wils is a young police officer in Nazi-occupied Antwerp who joins a secret organization working to help Jews, but juggling between the role of a cop expected to serve his Nazi masters and that of a ‘rebel’ comes at a great cost.
Based on Jeroen Olyslaegers’ fictional novel, the 2023 movie “Wil” by Tim Mielants stars Stef Aerts as the protagonist, Wil, a sensitive artist at heart who is torn between his ideals and the necessity of conforming to police brutality during the war. While the film starts with a light moment of Wil drawing a lewd portrait of a lady for a cop, the scene soon shifts to a gloomy rainy night, where Wil and his peer Lode Metdepenningen (Matteo Simoni) are accosted by a senior Nazi officer, who asks the duo to accompany him to arrest a family in the Jewish quarter. Forced to take part in the manhunt, the young men’s entire ordeal is captured in a tense sequence, which culminates into a tragedy.
While you’ll usually find me complaining about dull, dimly-lit shots in movies or series, the dim sepia themed color scheme of “Wil” befittingly blends with its sombre themes and situations. Both Wil and Lode must comply with their Nazi bosses in the day and then take part in a covert resistance movement post work, which creates a lot of tension and suspense over how long the two men can carry on their activities before they are found out and skinned alive. Hope, despair and the will to survive emerges as the biggest themes of this tale.
Stef Aerts’ portrayal of Wil is spirited; however, the character can be quite frustrating to watch. Despite being in the police force, Wil is filled with a certain naivete, making him quite easy to read. Whenever a Nazi officer is around him, his face falls, his body tightens, and he’d basically be one of the worst candidates for spy work. He begins to date Lode’s protective sister Yvette (Annelore Crollet), who is a lot more fierce, and intimidating. Their contrasting personalities offer much of the drama in “Wil”; while Wil is ready to bend according to the situation if it means keeping his head, Yvette would rather die than compromise her principles.
“Wil” might not be set on the frontlines like many popular war movies in the genre, such as ‘All Quiet on the Western Front,’ but it still captures Nazi brutality, violence, and persecution in uncomfortable ways. It’s an evenly paced war drama that displays the ugly side of war with grit, yet it never really manages to bring about catharsis in the viewer. However, the climax brings the theme of violence full circle, and Wil’s character development is marked by nihilism and the pessimism of war.
Rating: 7 on 10. You can stream “Wil” on Netflix.
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