Belgian director Lukas Dhont brought "Coward" into Cannes competition, making it one of 22 films vying for the festival's top prize before Saturday's closing ceremony.
A black-and-white photo of World War One soldiers in sandbag skirts and shell jewellery sparked the film, which Dhont said grew from his desire to show performance, tenderness and same-sex desire usually erased from war stories.
Newcomer Emmanuel Macchia stars as Pierre, a farmer's son sent to the front who finds solace in a romance at a makeshift camp theatre run by Francis, played by Valentin Campagne.
Critics were broadly favourable, with Deadline calling Macchia a fresh talent; the film marks Dhont's second Cannes competition entry after 2022's "Close," while his 2018 debut "Girl" won the Camera d'Or.
Critically savaged yet in competition, can Lukas Dhont's controversial WWI romance defy the odds and win the Palme d'Or?
Is Lukas Dhont's film a brave vision of WWI's hidden history or a 'phony' and 'appalling miscalculation'?