The Conscript (1974) User Reviews

Makes Les Mis' look like a comedy

[Chip_douglas · 11 July 2004]

It's 1833 and every young man in an unnamed Belgian village has to enter the lottery draw to see who joins the army (the so called 'blood law'). Belgian's pride Jan DeCleir portrays Jan Braems, one of the lucky ones, until a rich man talks him into taking his place in the army in exchange for money. Jan accepts and thereby makes the first of many disastrous mistakes. In fact, although the army certainly wasn't easy, it is mostly by his own foolish choices that misery befalls him.

Soon he has lost all his money (his only reason to be there) and a fellow soldier introduces Jan to a hooker who is 'just his size' to cheer him up. Of course bad luck Braems immediately gets a terrible disease. Meanwhile back at home his girl Katrien (debutante Ansje Beentjes) asks for comforting words from a pastor and he tells her Jan ‘probably forgot all about her'. She decides to go see for herself but by doing so his bad luck starts to rub off on her, leading to much misery for both of them before the end.

Based on the novel by Hendrik Conscience (his surname explains it all), this is actually the second film version of 'De Loteling'. Makes you wonder how the 1919 version portrayed the more graphic tragedies presented herein. The pace is slow which makes everything look really authentic, with the possible exception of the early seventies haircuts. Still, who is too say the 1973 uncombed hairstyle was not popular 140 years earlier? The use of music by Handl performed mainly on strings and church organs gives an extra dimension to the recreation of those tragic times gone by.

8 out of 10

Blood tax

[ulicknormanowen · 9/10 · 27 October 2021]

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.