User reviews

There's probably deliberate ambiguity in the title of this Belgian-made film about the wartime German occupation of Antwerp, with a double-meaning of the central character's name and ultimately his will for self-preservation in deciding between conscience and sacrifice when your life and more importantly, those of others, depends on it.

It's 1941 and we're immediately dropped in on the German Army overseeing their control of the city police force. It's an uneasy time and it's clear the captain in charge is no German lapdog. Later, on his way to work at night in absolutely filthy weather along with his friend and fellow-cop Lode, is the young, recently inducted Wil. Corralled by a German soldier into accompanying him in rooting out a family of Jews, both the young men are immediately tested by subsequent events and come down in favour of the angels in rescuing the family, but their intervention precipitates a terrible retribution by the Nazis whose young, smooth-talking commandant exacts bloody revenge on a rounded-up group of innocent Communist sympathisers, ruthlessly carried out by his grinning goon second-in-command.

Completely unnerved by these events, Wil is pulled this way and that with his obligations to his own family, his introduction to the Belgian Resistance group, his growing relationship with the initially distrusting sister of Lode and finally the expectation that he will subjugate himself to the Nazis and lead them to the truth about what really happened to their missing officer and by extension go on to hunt down and exterminate the local Resistance.

Be warned, this isn't a film for the faint-hearted containing as it does several scenes of look-away brutality, murder and torture. It all ends with Wil having to make his own mind up as to whether he puts his instinct for self-preservation over his inherent humanity and compassion for others. His dilemma is reminiscent, if in a more extreme way, of Winston Smith's in Orwell's "1984" and you probably know how that ends...

This is a dark and bleak feature which holds up a "what would you do?" mirror in front of the viewer and this, even more than some of the graphically harrowing scenes depicted, makes it an uneasy watch.

The ensemble acting is excellent. Lead Stef Aerts in the title role is presented to us initially as a naive, idealistic youth caught in the headlights by events, with his cherubic looks and almost angelic golden curls he resembles a young Art Garfunkel, but as events overtake him, we see him cauterized into the barbaric automaton he becomes at the end. Annelore Crollet as his girlfriend acts as the moral conscience of the film, taking over that role from her brother and it's she who delivers the final verdict on his actions at the movie's shocking climax.

Filmed in hyper-realistic style by Tim Mielants, while I considered there to be one or two implausible plot-jumps and might have welcomed at least some beacons of hope in the narrative, this was nevertheless a compelling study of the opposing psychologies of the oppressors and the oppressed in wartime.

Wars are mostly perceived as morally unambiguous. The Russians are the bad guys, the Ukrainians are the good ones. Before that, the communists were bad and the west was good. And before that, the Germans were the villains and the resistance fighters were the heroes.

In reality, it's not always clear cut. Who is bad and who is good is sometimes the result of mere circumstances. Of meeting certain people, of doing certain jobs. This is what the Flemish film 'Wil' is about. It shows how in Antwerp during the second World War, some people helped the Germans and the resistance fighters at the same time. Not because they couldn't decide what was morally wrong or right, but because circumstances forced them to, and because deep down, they preferred to stay on the sidelines.

Wil, the main character, is a low-ranking policeman in Antwerp who gets involved in an incident with a German officer. It can cost him his life. Most of the film shows how he tries to cope with this fact, and how people around him make various choices, thus influencing his own fate. The ending of the film is very dramatic, and illustrates how making moral choices differs from not doing that. Deciding not to stay on the sidelines can have an extreme impact.

The film is beautifully shot in dark, sombre colours, accentuating the difficulties of the war years. The acting is top notch, which shouldn't surprise because the cast consists of some of the best Flemish actors. This is a different kind of war movie, which inevitably makes every viewer wonder which choices he or she would have made. And to that question, there are no easy answers.

"WIL" is a fascinating and profound cinematic experience set in war-torn Antwerp during World War II. At its heart is the story of Wilfried Wils, a police officer confronted with intense and often heart-wrenching moral dilemmas. The film, enhanced by the impressive and immersive performances of Stef Aerts and the rest of the cast, not only brings a critical period in history to life but also casts a sharp light on the complexity of human choices in times of conflict.

The cinematography and production design are remarkable, capturing the dark, sometimes oppressive atmosphere of occupied Antwerp beautifully. This contributes to the sense of urgency and the emotional depth of the film. However, what truly sets "WIL" apart is its timeless relevance. In an era where the world is becoming increasingly polarized, the film offers an important mirror for contemporary viewers. It invites profound reflection on good and evil, and on the strength and vulnerability of humans in extreme situations.

"WIL" is a film that not only entertains but also challenges and inspires. It is an essential viewing experience for anyone interested in the complexity of human nature, moral quandaries, and the impact of historical events on personal choices. Highly recommended, especially for fans of historical dramas and thought-provoking films.

During war and conflict survival trumps all else. There are different ways to survive for ordinary civilians.

However, as a police officer in German occupied Antwerp, Belgium Wil's options are limited. Does he collaborate and watch other civilians die brutally at the hands of the German Gestapo? Does he join the resistance and fight the German occupation?

There are no easy answers in this - or in life. Sometimes it even becomes hard - or impossible - to change course midstream in the extreme circumstances precipated by war.

As a movie, Wil adroitly puts on screen the complexities of life and the choices required to survive during wartime. The film is well acted, realistic though slow - hence the seven stars.

As "Wil" (2023 release from Belgium; 114 min.) opens, we are in "Antwerp, 1942", and the Nazi have occupied the city. We are introduced to Wil and Lode, 2 guys who have just joined the ranks of the Antwerp police. They loathe the Germans but are forced to work with them... At this point we are 10 minutes into the movie.

Couple of comments: this is the latest from writer-producer-director Tim Mielants, bringing the best-selling novel of the same name by Jeroen Olyslaegers to the big screen. I have not read the book and hence cannot comment how closely the film stick to the book. What I do know is this: this is a hard-hitting movie about the moral dilemmas of people who are put into an. Impossible position. Beware: there are several scenes of violence and worse that are sure to make you feel uncomfortable. There is no sugarcoating of what life was like under Nazi occupation. As a complete aside: I hail from Antwerp, Belgium (but now a longtime resident in the US) and I can't help but feel a little disappointed how little of the actual city is shown in the movie. "Wil" was a runaway success in Flanders, Belgium last year (sold the most tickets of any film released there in 2023; also just swept the local equivalent of the Oscars).

"Wil" premiered in Belgium last September, and it just started streaming on Netflix here. If you are in the mood for a tense movie that is heavy on moral issues of Nazi occupation in WWII, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.

This movie is produced in Belgium and based on a fictional novel. It tells the story of Wilfried (Wil) Wils, which just started working for the Antwerp police in occupied Belgium during WW2. After just having finished his police training in 1942, we see how he struggles with the events he experiences during his job as police officer.

The City of Antwerp is a very relevant location during WW2, not only because of it being a huge harbour, but also because of the city having many jewish inhabitants. Even today, the city of Antwerp is known for its "Diamond District", which houses many jews. As such, Antwerp was facing many razzia's during WW2, where jewish people were rounded up for deportation. And it is in this climate, that we see this movie take place.

Although this movie is not based on true events, I think that it is still relevant for any person interested in WW2. This since it shows what is expected from being a police officer in a city with many jewish inhabitants.

I found the overall storyline not that impressive - but the movie was still a very okay watch. This mainly because I was pretty impressed by how everything looked: all uniforms and other props looked authentic for the 1942 period. Most impressive are the houses, streets and other locations like e.g. The central railway station looked! As such, I really had the idea I was watching Antwerp as it may have looked like in 1942.

I score this movie at 6.7/10, resulting in an IMDb rating of 7 stars.

Once again (as so often nowadays, given the viewing demographics of sites like Netflix), you have to ignore the reviews from the Marvel generations. Easy enough to spot. Low ratings. Reviews that contain words like SLOOOW and BOOORING, with the extra vowels and capitalisations for added emphasis. This kind of language and typography seems to be the only response such 'reviewers' are able to muster, given their obvious limitations in other respects. I have ADHD, but my attention didn't waver from the moment I pressed 'Play'. I didn't even pause it to make a drink, I was so riveted.

Here is a film that jerks us out of our comfort zones and forces us to consider the lessons of history that, as the film's initial monologue makes plain, aren't the ones we're taught in school. Here is a film that reminds us - why do we constantly need reminding? - to look beyond labels and categorisations and go straight to the only one that will ever make any sense: human being.

Necessary viewing... in spite of what the kids might say.

Despite the poor title(the character isn't referred to that much, even more so for the audience to remember his name) and a uninvolving romantic sub plot with his friend's sister that is underwritten, this is a chilly, well acted drama.

Like Munich: The Edge of War and One Life the German occupation is a catalyst in providing a tense background for a story where anything can happen.

I thought the bleakness added to the overall tragedy especially at the end, which may alienate some hoping for a happy ending.

With The Zone of Interest and One Life , the topic of the Holocaust is still prevalent and important.

How difficult had to be for Dutch police men that the Nazi SS gave their orders to them. It shows again how cruel and without mercy the SS chased the Jewish people everywhere in Europe.

I thought Jesus, didn't the Nazi really have nothing other to do to kill innocent and peaceful people at that brutal time? The Dutch police had to follow them to survive the war.

If you like this genre of films I recommend Persian Lessons, Son of Soul, The Pianist, Sarah's Key or Anne Frank. The scenarios for the filming locations were top executed and the director did a great job too. Of course the main actors too.

7/10.

Where to start ...

Wil is a serious film, and it leaves an impact on you. Based on the novel 'Wil' by Flemish author Jeroen Olyslaegers, it shows the grim sides of working as an auxiliary police officer during occupied Antwerp in 1942. Moral choices and consequences are displayed incredibly well in the film, and make you think about what's worth for survival and what not. Who to betray and who not. Who you would risk your life for, and who not.

It leaves a great impression on me, going from extremely violent images, to sensual, to the type of moral choices that are presented that no one is really capable of making.

A very powerful film, I would absolutely recommend it. The trailer doesn't do the film justice at all!

I went to see this movie because I absolutely loved Mielants' first film, De Patrick. I knew nothing about Wil, and didn't read the book, but went solely because it was another film by Mielants. And it did not disappoint.

The story is a bit thin (you can kind of guess where the movie's going), but the cinematography is beautiful, and the acting is very solid. I was not bored throughout the movie, and was also moved emotionally, especially near the end. While it's an entirely different type of movie from De Patrick, you recognise Mielants' signature style in it. Visually it's a also very impressive movie.

The choice to crop the screen so that it feels more like a movie of old; and the way the movie is shot very up close and personal in all actors' faces, really contributes to the suspension and feeling of unease. The score and music of the movie was also amazing.

I think this is a very strong movie made by one of Belgium's most talented directors.

This movie while surely based off of a fictional story, does however give you insight into the mentality and moral conflictions all of these young and old men of the police had to face during nazi occupation. The reviewers criticizing the movie about the cruelty having to be seen or captured is one of if not the most idiotic thing to mention. The movie is based off of the holocaust. Is it supposed to show you confetti when somebody is shot in the face? Was the director to replace the gestapo with clowns with big funny noses? The movie is intentionally set in the grim past of reality, the movie is the perspective of Wilfried, a recounting of witnessing cruelty beyond words could describe. And the criticizing of the movie being slow or boring, not every movie about world war two has to be filled with tanks, planes, and machine guns. You don't need needless action to portray a message encapsulated in this very movie. As far as others calling this a nazi sympathizer film, did you even watch the movie? The character is objectively and morally against the Nazi collaborators and actions of the gestapo when he was faced with it. The long stares are purposeful and meaningful, the gut wrenching imagery Wilfried sees would haunt any man woman or child witnessing it first hand in a world where you've never seen a man being tortured with boiling and ice water, a world where you've never seen men and women turn on their countrymen and women over propaganda aimed to dehumanize the jewish people. This movie has the character reeling from each new day that comes, because each day seemingly gets harder and harder to cope with. 9/10 I'd have given it a 10 had it been longer.

In this film we follow the storyline of the origins of the resistance during the Second World War in Antwerp from the eyes of the young police officer Wils. The story is told as history actually occurred. All necessary, sometimes cruel, details are included in the film. At times the film is frightening and cruel, giving you a feeling of envy towards history.

The scenes are filmed entirely in the Antwerp dialect, which is sometimes difficult to understand even as a Flemish person. So turning on the subtitles is definitely a must.

The film itself is very structured. We start with a general introduction and quickly get started with the effective storyline. The events follow each other in quick succession and you continue to be triggered to look up. However, there is a time jump halfway through the film, which suddenly makes it seem a bit confusing and it takes a while before you realize what just happened.

This movie is a fantastic adaptation of the novel Wil written by belgian writer Jeroen Olyslaegers.

Victors always write history, often with an unchallengable an unequivacable version of events.

Unfortunately, reality is far more complex than white or black, good or bad. Circumstances, and our own skin in the game regularly affect decision making. As you can imagine, this is truly the case when your country is occupied by Nazis and you are forced to face the choice of collaborating with the enemy or being removed from the equation.

The storyfollows Wil, a new police officer in the Antwerp police who is immediately confronted with these choices. These dilemmas form the main theme throughout the film, as well as the psychological difficulties of such circumstances and choices.

The fillm is masterfully executed by Tim Mielants, with wonderful filming tecniques, and graphic depictions of the harshness of the 1940s. All in all, it is a fascinating movie, depicting an aspect of the Second World War that has rarely been explored.

So many war movies have already been made, so trying to add something new and original is quite difficult, but that is not this movies' worst pitfall...

The bad: I am sorry, but I just could not stand the leading actor, who had only 1 facial expression of a rabbit with it's eyes wide open looking frozen and scared. That was all he could master to look like. What an absolute mis cast of an actor. He looked quite silly, while this was meant to be a hardhitting serious drama.

More bad: it fails in becoming gripping or suspenseful or exciting. Not terrible, but going through the motions of yet another world war 2 movie.

The good: I was very pleased though with the photography which looked gorgeous with it's golden yellow grey colors and beautiful contrasts. It looked the part, but failed to excite on any other level in the end.

By starting just how it's filmed in every aspect it's beautiful. It's shot in a kinda film noir with colorful style, really lovely dop! Love the lighting and the straight on style of filming that gives such a beautiful way of capturing the characters and moments the film is set in. Story starts off slow but really captures your feelings and emotions later on.

The film captures a very interesting time and setting it shows an element in war pictures that you don't seem that often. It has beauty and a kinda horror.

As almost all European movies sound could be better but it didn't stop to be a fantastic film.

Movie is great, adding how to protect yourself, loved ones and minority groups in it's story. I think nobody knows the impact a war like this could have on a person's morality compas. The movie portrays the difficulty of choosing between right and wrong in a time of war and occupation.

Would have give it a 10 if they didn't portray the Belgians as collaborators. Belgian had, despite it's geographical position, not a lot of collaborators.

Nevertheless, the movie is a must watch and big up to the performance of the actors. They did a great job. The visuals where as good as it gets.

I would recommend this movie.

The movie started GREAT, but after the first 20 minutes it became a rather SLOW movie with SLOW suspense or not knowing WHERE the movie is heading to... Stef Aerts DID a great personification of his character; I had my doubts of Matteo Simoni's role, since I consider him also a GREAT actor, but his part in this movie is rather 'small' and IMHO not so meaning'full' (Hence the title 'Wil' of the movie referring to Stef's role, but nonetheless though)... Gene Bervoets' role may be small, but yet again SUBLIME! He's VERY GOOD in putting down different characters.

I consider the WHOLE movie some sort of events of strange 'coincidences' that in real life (back then or now) would NEVER work(ed)! But yet again, it's based on a FICTION BOOK, so you can write whatever FICTION you like; in some way you can ALWAYS make it 'work'... You can't compare with NON-FICTION stories like "The Pianist" or "Schindler's List". These movies DO make SENSE, because THEY HAPPENED as-is! This one DOESN'T/DIDN'T!

As said by Samuel-L-Bergmans; the story is idd IMHO quite thin and the cinematography is idd very well done. Visually it was satisfying, but the storyline was IMHO BORING and not cohesive!

The music score was also idd very good!

Also casting 'half of ALL BEST KNOWN Flemish actors' (sort of speaking!) for small parts in this movie was IMHO unnecessary!

Better to spend time casting lesser known actors and giving them also a GOOD chance to 'break-through' for such role...

As of a detail; the outside scenes for this movie should have happened in the city of Antwerp, but MANY outside-scenes weren't filmed in Antwerp; the buildings in Antwerp NEVER had those kind of building constructions/style; I immediately had a Eastern-Europe building style in mind... Until I saw the end credits/titles referring to Poland. ;-)

In hindsight we often like to point fingers at history and judge a nation, a character - but dark times and pressing circumstances often put humans in dichotomy. Wil is such a character who was torn between resistance and cooperation, and slowly lost himself and the people he loved and wanted to protect. This is a very unique perspective of a very complicated time, and mad me wonder how I would have reacted had I been born during that time.

Beautiful cinematography, incredible acting. Took me sometime to get hooked since it didn't start off as a typical WWII movie, but at the end it was definitely worth it.

This movie popped in my Netflix feed so I gave it a chance as I can't resist WWII movies as Netflix algorithms are very smart. As I never heard of this movie before, it was an unexpected surprise as I was on the edge of my seat the entire time.

I've seen many movies of this genre and (without providing spoilers here) it gives a point of view that I'm not used to.

Wil is an extremely violent and brutal movie about two police officers under the thumb of sadistic German occupiers who are trying to survive. Jews are stolen from, killed, rounded up and beaten - but that's really in the background of the movie.

If you can handle the violence and subject matter - don't miss this.

This is an extremely well crafted movie that deals with the moral conundrums that arise under enemy occupation, specifically in the actual context of WWII and the brutal Nazi take over of Belgium. The characters are believable, the acting affecting, and the narrative consonant with the historical accounts that are now so familiar, at least to those of us who care to know about and respect history.

I'm submitting this review, which I hardly ever do, because others have left here some really ignorant comments and low ratings that this film doesn't deserve. Rest assured that the film isn't anything like those negative reviews would have it. It's about moral ambiguity and the difficulties faced by those who find themselves having to choose between survival and the right thing under conditions in which there is no right answer.

The film is excellent.

Wil and Lode are two young rookie cops in Antwerpen, starting their beat in 1942 under the most inauspicious circumstance, namely the Nazi occupation.

It is widely known that a lot of Belgians (like citizens of other occupied countries) were willingly collaborating with the Nazis and even if Wil seems reluctant at first, things will take a bad turn, because the two cops are dragged by a Nazi to shake down a Jewish family with dire consequences.

We know that the Nazis tortured gleefully whenever they got the chance and here they get plenty: the Nazi soldier disappears and it's found dead (we're shown his rotting corpse), the chief of police is tortured with boiling water, Wil gets more than one severe beating, plus assorted realistic stabbing and atrocities.

I wonder how much we actually needed to see to get the point of unspeakable cruelty and relentless gloom and how much was done for shocking purposes only. I think the second is more likely.

It doesn't help that the actor playing Wil (with one "L", it's a Dutch nickname) has the unfortunate features of a weakling and his role requires him to act extremely stupid (looking terrified when indifferent or defiant was needed, getting drunk with the Nazis and spilling the beans, etc...) while two more famous Belgian actors (Kevin Janssens and Koen De Bouw) who could have given some gravitas to the story, appear only in secondary roles.

I give two stars (one compulsory) because I lived in Belgium and I liked the short scene in Antwerpen monumental train station (the old part, obviously...)

What a movie... Actors, camera, lighting, sound, editing, art direction, music. All are of exceptional quality. The oppressive atmosphere of Antwerp during World War II with its Nazis and traitors gets under your skin within 5 minutes. The actors in this film are (thankfully) not stars but genuine people. Belgians speak Flemish, Germans speak German. The dilemmas people face during war are a downright nightmare. Some of the shots were reportedly taken in Poland because the houses and streets there still resemble those of Europe 80 years ago. The images of the raid are clearly inspired by the pogroms in Lviv in 1941. Truly, everything about this film is superb. In my opinion, director Tim Mielants immediately ranks among the greats. Secretly, I hope that he will film the story of 'De bende van Jan de Lichte' with the same rawness.

I watched this film with my wife, expecting a WWII drama, without doing any prior research. Given the current state of world affairs, perhaps we didn't need more war in our lives. This turned out to be a poor choice, as the film consists of about 50% graphic violence and suffering. I wouldn't recommend watching it with people who are sensitive to such content.

The film delivers a message about wartime collaboration and how people move on, seemingly forgetting millions of deaths as if everything is forgiven.

The end credits suggest this is the right approach (?), though it's unclear whether this is the character's perspective only or the director's intention, because there was barely any reflection from the main character besides the beginning and the end credits. So who knows what he's really feeling.

While the movie was uncomfortable to watch, with its dim lighting, 4:3 aspect ratio, and focus on pain and torture rather than emotion or acting, it didn't resonate with me. Instead, I found the writing atrocious to the point that it just annoyed me, wasting interesting possibilities for violence and blank "face acting".

As someone living in Eastern Ukraine who has witnessed similar events, I just couldn'y buy the main character existing in real life. He's intentionally written to be annoying and blank, failing at everything with only a "suffering inside" expression, he approaches an NPC status, rather than an acting figure. In my experience, someone behaving like this wouldn't survive a day in a real conflict. The plot felt nonsensical, relying on intense violence to distract from the poor writing. The Hans Landa cosplayer's motivations were bizarre, seemingly aware of everything from the start but choosing to waste weeks torturing the surrounding of the main NPC. At times, I questioned whether the director had an affinity for violence, though I tried to justify it as artistic expression. While the film's intention is understandable, and if you accept the level of violence as necessary, it might rate a 4/10. However, if you consider the logic of events, it becomes a mess. It's difficult to connect with a protagonist who feels more like a blank video game character than a real person. I don't recommend this film for WWII drama enthusiasts. Also, due to its extreme violence, it's not suitable for easily impressionable viewers.