The Conscript

The Conscript

1974 · 82 min · ★ 5.3 · Drama

In 1833, when the fledgling Belgian kingdom still fears a Dutch invasion, recruits were selected annually from an age cohort by a draw of lots in each locality. In this grim, then contemporary drama by the 'father of Flemish literature', Hendrik Conscience, Jan Braems, a poor and naive farmers-boy, accepts the not uncommon offer by a rich family to sell his lucky ticket (out) to their son for a hefty sum compared to the miserable labor wages at the time. Army life is even harsher then a farmhand's, especially for a Dutch-speaking an-alphabet who simply can't understand his francophone superiors, and Jan's nature is not complacent enough for military discipline even by todays standards, so he soon gets into all kinds of trouble, including gambling his capital away and a venereal disease. When his girlfriend back home goes looking for him, her life is doomed as well.

Directed by Roland Verhavert · Written by Nic Bal

Your Rating

Where to Watch

Streaming

Cast

Jan Decleir Jan Braems
Ansje Beentjes Katrien
Gaston Vandermeulen Grootvader
Gella Allaert Katriens moeder
Bernard Verheyden Karel
Marieke van Leeuwen Hoertje
Idwig Stephane Korporaal
Eddy Asselbergs Boef
Leo Madder Boef
Denise Zimmerman Vrouw van kommandant
Rudi Van Vlaenderen Dokter
Johan Vanderbracht Kommandant

Make it a double feature

The Conscript

Een zachtmoedige vrouw

Both from Roland Verhavert.

More from Roland VerhavertSee all →

Een zachtmoedige vrouw

Een zachtmoedige vrouw · 1971

Een zachtmoedige vrouw

This psychological drama begins after a young woman has committed suicide. Her husband, a cynical pawnbroker, sits desperately by her body. Through a feverish internal monologue and flashbacks, he attempts to reconstruct the events. He tries to justify his own behavior and subtly shifts the blame for the tragedy onto her, while the viewer unravels the destructive dynamics of their marriage.

Seagulls Die in the Harbour

Seagulls Die in the Harbour · 1955

Seagulls Die in the Harbour

MovieDramaCrime

A pessimistic urban drama, with a musical score by Jack Sels and Max Damasse, charts in strongly expressionistically lit black-and-white images the wanderings of a tormented man through the cosmopolitan port city of Antwerp. The only people to show him understanding are an orphan and two disillusioned women.

Ferbac

Hellegat

Hellegat · 1980

A young brickyard worker named Sam bonds with an older coworker named Louis as their traditional industry faces closure and local environmental issues.

Chronicle of a Passion

Chronicle of a Passion · 1973

Chronicle of a Passion

After World War I, widower Renier has returned to his estate Horlebecq. His sole diversion is his correspondence with the Parisian Rolande, who he met during the war. Even though his family is pressuring him into marrying his sister-in-law Emily, Renier stays obsessed with Rolande and even visits her in Paris. She manages to persuade him to invest large sums of money into the "Academie de Beauté" in Paris. His reckless investments and breaking off his engagement with Emily leads to unbearable tensions at Horlebecq...

Silent Bruges

Silent Bruges · 1981

Hugues cannot get over the untimely death of his wife Blanche, who made him happy for ten years. He lives alone in his house in Bruges, a city he would like to be dead like his wife. The sorrowful widower has transformed the place he lives in into a shrine dedicated to his beloved wife. One day, he meets Jeanne, a ballet dancer, who looks like Blanche.

Zware jongens

Zware jongens · 1984

Gaston grew up on the fringes of society and interacts with other people as little as possible. Leo, on the other hand, is a very bourgeois person. He lives way above his station, but has a heart of gold. Using forged cheques and unsecured credit cards, he tries to keep up appearances. By a coincidence, Gaston's fate is linked to Leo's.

Farewells

Farewells · 1966

The captain of a ship in port has been entrusted with a secret government mission. He gives leave to the crew, but orders them to report back each morning. As the days go by, and the sailing date still remains a secret, the crew are thrown into a state of increasing uncertainty. The film concentrates on two crew members whose experiences are coloured by the omnipresent reality of the ship which is about to depart.

The Enemies

The Enemies · 1968

In the freezing winter of 1944, the devastating Battle of the Bulge rages across Belgium. Amid the chaos, an American soldier separated from his unit crosses paths with Richard, a cynical young Belgian boy, and Willy, a wounded German soldier they take as a prisoner.Stranded in a desolate, snowy landscape where survival overrides military allegiance, the three mismatched individuals form a fragile, surreal bond. As they trudge through the war-torn countryside, their basic survival instincts push political ideologies aside.

Peasant Psalm

Peasant Psalm · 1989

MovieDramaHistory

The movie follows the turbulent life of Wortel, a deeply devout yet flawed Flemish farmer at the turn of the 20th century. Wortel has an intense bond with his land, but his life is defined by a relentless series of tragic hardships.Throughout his journey, Wortel faces the loss of multiple children, the suicide of his son, and the heartbreaking deaths of his wives, Fien and Frisine. Despite these devastating misfortunes, he is constantly urged by the local village priest to accept this suffering as part of God's grand plan. Mixing heavy melodrama with moments of dark, bittersweet humor, the film portrays Wortel’s fierce survival instinct, human weaknesses, and ultimate search for solace through his faith and hard labor.

Zaman

MovieCrimeDrama

An inspector of the Antwerp criminal investigation unit faces problems not only in his professional life, but also at home. When he is partnered with a young, over-confident colleague, he loses control over the case in hand.

Pallieter

Pallieter · 1975

MovieRomanceDrama

In this film version of the Dutch-language classic ('heimat'-)novel by Flemish author Felix Timmermans, the title character is a city-boy from Lier who after recovering from a life-threatening disease changes his life completely and his name to the self-invented Pallieter. He moves in with Charlote, a naive, caring relative in the country, where he starts frolicking, no longer caring for image, career or possessions, but concentrates on enjoying life -such as a draftee relative's Brueghelian wedding- and finds love with Marieke. A dark story-line however is when projected work on the river in the name of economical progress threatens the rural landscape they have fallen in love with...

Burned Bridges

Burned Bridges · 1977

In the Belgian hamlet of Verbrande Brug, former lovers Monique and Louis reconnect at a carnival, stirring up drama with their current partners.

Whitey

The second movie version, now in color, of Flemish (heimat-)author Ernest Claes' classical novel, titled after the nickname (Dutch 'the White', referring to a blond male) of the main character. The smart but naughty farmhands son's eternal mischief, pranks and disobedience drive his elders (especially teachers, family and father's grumpy employer, a rich farmer, but also neighbors and even the kind curate whose liturgical server he is) and classmates to despair in a time when a boy's punishment was still inevitable, swift and often severe; thus when his mother catches him skinny dipping she takes all his clothes home, forcing him to a long walk of shame, dreading dad's wrath all the way. This version also stresses the story's social and Flamingant aspects.

The Enclosure

The Enclosure · 1978

In this silent film, a hermit living in the ruins of an old castle spies on and grows obsessed with a young couple building a home by the river.

The End of the Journey

The End of the Journey · 1981

The End of the Journey

A 40-year-old mother struggles to deal with the anxiety of growing older after her eldest daughter moves out and the youngest distances herself.

More Like This

Witness for the Prosecution

Witness for the Prosecution · 1957

Witness for the Prosecution

MovieDramaMystery

An ailing barrister is thrust back into the courtroom in what becomes one of the most unusual and eventful murder cases of the lawyer's career when he finds himself defending a man being tried for the murder of a socialite.

Left Behind

Left Behind · 2000

MovieDramaFantasy

After learning that millions have completely vanished, an airline pilot, a journalist, and others work together to unravel the mystery of those left behind.

Pork Chop Hill

Pork Chop Hill · 1959

MovieDramaHistory

Korean War, April 1953. Lieutenant Clemons, leader of the King company of the United States Infantry, is ordered to recapture Pork Chop Hill, occupied by a powerful Chinese Army force, while, just seventy miles away, at nearby the village of Panmunjom, a tense cease-fire conference is celebrated.

MovieDramaRomance

Sugihara, a Japanese-born, third-generation Korean teenager struggles to find a place in a society that will not accept him.

Beastly

Beastly · 2011

MovieRomanceFantasy

A modern-day take on the "Beauty and the Beast" tale where a New York teen is transformed into a hideous monster in order to find true love.

Eat Pray Love

Eat Pray Love · 2010

MovieDramaRomance

A married woman realizes how unhappy her marriage really is, and that her life needs to go in a different direction. After a painful divorce, she takes off on a round-the-world journey to "find herself".

The Story of Qiu Ju

The Story of Qiu Ju · 1992

The Story of Qiu Ju

MovieComedyDrama

When her husband is kicked in the groin by the village head, Qiu Ju, a peasant woman, despite her pregnancy, travels to a nearby town, and later a big city to deal with its bureaucrats and find justice.

More on NetflixSee all →

Animals

Animals · 2026

MovieThrillerDrama

When the son of an L.A. mayoral candidate is kidnapped, he and his wife have a few hours to come up with the ransom payment. With most of their money spent on his political campaign, they have to get their hands dirty and expose a side of their lives they never intended to see the light of day.

The Breadwinner

The Breadwinner · 2026

The Breadwinner

MovieComedyFamily

After his wife Katie lands a once-in-a-lifetime deal on Shark Tank that takes her on a prolonged business trip - lifelong breadwinner Nate Wilcox now has to fend for his family as a first-time stay-at-home dad.

Reporting Live

Reporting Live · 2026

MovieCrimeThriller

A young reporter and her reluctant cameraman chase a story, only to get entangled in an illegal sand-mining racket run by a ruthless syndicate.

Spider-Man: No Way Home

Spider-Man: No Way Home · 2021

Spider-Man: No Way Home

MovieActionAdventure

Peter Parker is unmasked and no longer able to separate his normal life from the high-stakes of being a super-hero. When he asks for help from Doctor Strange the stakes become even more dangerous, forcing him to discover what it truly means to be Spider-Man.

The Godfather

The Godfather · 1972

MovieDramaCrime

Spanning the years 1945 to 1955, a chronicle of the fictional Italian-American Corleone crime family. When organized crime family patriarch, Vito Corleone barely survives an attempt on his life, his youngest son, Michael steps in to take care of the would-be killers, launching a campaign of bloody revenge.

The Wild Robot

The Wild Robot · 2024

MovieFamilyAnimation

After a shipwreck, an intelligent robot called Roz is stranded on an uninhabited island. To survive the harsh environment, Roz bonds with the island's animals and cares for an orphaned baby goose.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle · 2025

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle

MovieAnimationAction

The Demon Slayer Corps are drawn into the Infinity Castle, where Tanjiro, Nezuko, and the Hashira face terrifying Upper Rank demons in a desperate fight as the final battle against Muzan Kibutsuji begins.

Howl's Moving Castle

Howl's Moving Castle · 2004

Howl's Moving Castle

MovieFantasyAnimation

Sophie, a young milliner, is turned into an elderly woman by a witch who enters her shop and curses her. She encounters a wizard named Howl and gets caught up in his resistance to fighting for the king.

Swapped

Swapped · 2026

MovieAdventureAnimation

A small woodland creature and a majestic bird, two natural sworn enemies of the Valley, magically trade places and set off on an adventure of a lifetime to switch back. Their journey soon uncovers a greater threat—one that could endanger not only their species, but the entire valley they call home.

Spirited Away

Spirited Away · 2001

MovieAnimationFamily

A young girl, Chihiro, becomes trapped in a strange new world of spirits. When her parents undergo a mysterious transformation, she must call upon the courage she never knew she had to free her family.

Hostel

Three backpackers head to a Slovakian city that promises to meet their hedonistic expectations, with no idea of the hell that awaits them.

Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood

Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood · 2019

Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood

MovieComedyDrama

Los Angeles, 1969. TV star Rick Dalton, a struggling actor specializing in westerns, and stuntman Cliff Booth, his best friend, try to survive in a constantly changing movie industry. Dalton is the neighbor of the young and promising actress and model Sharon Tate, who has just married the prestigious Polish director Roman Polanski…

Puss in Boots

Puss in Boots · 2011

MovieActionAdventure

Long before he even met Shrek, the notorious fighter, lover and outlaw Puss in Boots becomes a hero when he sets off on an adventure with the tough and street smart Kitty Softpaws and the mastermind Humpty Dumpty to save his town. This is the true story of The Cat, The Myth, The Legend... The Boots.

Fight Club

Fight Club · 1999

MovieDramaThriller

A ticking-time-bomb insomniac and a slippery soap salesman channel primal male aggression into a shocking new form of therapy. Their concept catches on, with underground "fight clubs" forming in every town, until an eccentric gets in the way and ignites an out-of-control spiral toward oblivion.

Evil Dead Burn

Evil Dead Burn · 2026

After her husband's abrupt death, Alice seeks solace with his remaining family — descendants of a leading researcher on demonic possession. As her in-laws transform one by one into creatures that feed on fear, she comes to discover that the vows she took in life survive even in death.

KPop Demon Hunters

KPop Demon Hunters · 2025

KPop Demon Hunters

MovieFantasyMusic

When K-pop superstars Rumi, Mira and Zoey aren't selling out stadiums, they're using their secret powers to protect their fans from supernatural threats.

The Storm

The Storm · 2026

MovieComedyDrama

When a storm traps old university pals at a luxury lodge, their civilized birthday bash spirals into a cyclone of betrayals, grudges and unfiltered chaos.

Shrek

MovieAnimationComedy

It ain't easy bein' green -- especially if you're a likable (albeit smelly) ogre named Shrek. On a mission to retrieve a gorgeous princess from the clutches of a fire-breathing dragon, Shrek teams up with an unlikely compatriot -- a wisecracking donkey.

Facing El Chapo

Facing El Chapo · 2026

Facing El Chapo

MovieCrimeAction

Two Mexican officers must survive the final hours of their shift after crossing a ruthless cartel boss.

Therapy Done Right

Therapy Done Right · 2026

Therapy Done Right

MovieComedyDrama

A psychoanalyst who's lost faith in traditional therapy crosses every boundary to help a blocked novelist in this cutting Argentine dark comedy.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter