Demester, a quiet but thoughtful man, runs a farm with his mother in Flanders, in the countryside of northern France. He adores his childhood friend Barbe, but she is the girlfriend of another friend of his. Knowing his feelings toward her, Barbe mercifully accepts his physical advances from time to time, while keeping her boyfriend. When Demester enlists in the army with other friends and goes to war where people are brutally murdered, Barbe is left alone in town. In his fourth film, [Flanders], Bruno Dumont - one of France`s most prominent filmmakers - explores human nature and violence just as he did in his previous works. Set against the wide fields of the countryside, fierce internal human conflicts unfold through minimal expression of actors` faces, dialogue and performance. Once again, [Flanders] shows formal austerity, which is the utmost characteristic of Dumont`s films. (Rhee Soue-Won)