Oh my God! A Romance between a boy and a man?

By Harold Sánchez

For A Lost Soldier Poster

Not too long ago I came across a music video filled with images that got my attention. Even more, they impressed me -or maybe I´m just a puritan. Anyways, as soon as I saw a kid having what it seemed to be a romance with a soldier I decided to research, track the movie the visuals had been extracted from, and see it.

The film looked beautiful to me. It´s the kind of story we fall in love with and that makes us want to watch it many times without getting tired. The chemistry between the two protagonists is splendid, like that when two people have known each other their whole lives. And one of the best things is the acting of the then small Maarten Smit as the Young Jeroen, who has all the plot responsibility on his shoulders, since the rest of the characters don´t have their own storyline but depend on him to appear on the film.

For A Lost Soldier is an adaptation from a book of the same name written by Dutch choreographer and writer Rudi Van Dantzig, and that is based on his own experience.

Jeroen and Walt. Photo Google

During World War II, the German forces blocked all food supply to Amsterdam, reason why the Holland capital had severe problems to provide aliment to its people. This situation made several parents decide to send their children to small villages, where the effects from the blocking hadn´t hit. It was there where Jeroen met Walt, a Canadian soldier with whom he had more than a friendship.

The plot shows us an obviously delicate situation, because it´s about a romance between a 12-year-old boy and an adult man on approximately his 20s, according to the book. The director, Roeland Kerbosch, displays spectacularly every aspect of the film, so we see something sweet, pure, and not a motive for scandal.

The motion picture shows us a boy starting his puberty, who feels attraction, and can´t avoid looking at male bodies. This topic is treated as something perfectly normal -and it is. Let´s emphasize that the movie was made in 1992, a time when the mere homosexuality was still considered a discreditable action, all the more reason to say the film was ahead of its time (The Europeans always a step ahead on these matters).

The encounter between Jeroen and Walt happens just after the American and Canadian forces free The Netherlands from the Nazis power, Walt one of the liberators. Both become friends and playfellows quickly, but soon something else arises.

The intimate scenes between them were very well-handled. They look lovely and don´t lead the spectator to think about pedophilia. The original story (the one in the book) is fairly different, but it´s equally narrated from the boy´s point of view, so that every sensation, experience, emotion, gets to the viewer from the heart of the child, something totally normal, since preteens fall in love, feel and have the right to express it as well. Rudi Van Dantzig, as the owner of those memories, decided to tell them on this book in 1986.

Why the title “For A Lost Soldier”? because once the troop Walt was part of was relocated, Jeroen lost his soldier (the movie is from 1992, so this is not a spoiler.)

Another interesting fact: Walt only spoke English and Jereon Dutch, and this made communication practically impossible (Jeroen learned phrases in the other language little by little). Walt showed a little preoccupied (in the film, not the book) and we also see his intention to tell Hait (the man who had received Jeroen in his home) about his departure, but the linguistic barrier prevent them from understanding each other, therefore, the little boy doesn´t know until later.

On top of that, the picture of Walt he had got accidentally destroyed, so the boy´s left with nothing but images of his beloved soldier kept in his mind. 35 years after, we see Jeroen turned into a successful dance teacher (Dantzig) preparing a choreography based on the Netherlands liberation by American and Canadian soldiers. We can also see how part of that choreography is inspired on his romance.

Good cinematography with marvelous city and countryside landscapes at day and nighttime, combined with great acting, plus a story treated delicately, bring us a fascinating production that makes us fall in love with it just like Jeroen fell in love with Walt.

The film can be seen for free on some websites. The DVD can be bought on the Internet, too. The book is a little harder to find, but no impossible. If you can find it, you will enjoy a deeper story than the one in the movie.  

By Harold Sánchez