It's unlikely that a movie like "For a Lost Soldier" would be made today. Some might say we live in more 'protective' times; others might say we live in more puritanical times. I have no intention of getting into arguments over the Me2 Movement or indeed about how cinema and the world at large has become more censorial on what we can see or say or do. "For a Lost Soldier" is by no means an explicit film but its theme is clear. It's about a 12 year old boy in war-time Holland who not only develops a friendship with an older Canadian soldier but also falls in love with him as well and, we are lead to believe, probably experiences something sexual with him, too. The boy grows up gay, (he is played in adult life by Jeroen Krabbe), though I would suggest he was always gay and was simply acting on his nature.Since the film was made in 1992 the age of consent has gone down and the world in general is thankfully much more accepting of gay relationships in all forms though children are still protected in law from exploitation and rightly so, though someone seeing "For a Lost Soldier" might argue no exploitation takes place while others will argue that Walt, the soldier's relationship with the child is predatory since it is he who initiates the sexual element and may argue that the abuse is at least emotional. Some, on the other hand, will see him as innocent as the boy.Of course, what the film basically is is a love story; a tale of first love, the difference being that both protagonists are male and one of them is a child. It was controversial when it was made and it's just as controversial now. It discusses issues that most people still find repugnant and it will always be a film that will have difficulty finding its audience. It isn't that well-made; director Roeland Kerbosch isn't the most proficient of film-makers and the acting is adequate at best but it remains a brave and challenging film and ultimately a very touching one. Unfortunately, times being what they are, it's now almost impossible to see.

Having lived and worked in the Netherlands and knowing its language, I have been interested in the Dutch cinema as well, particularly if Rutger Hauer or Jeroen Krabbé present. There have lots of films on the WWII been made, nicely versatile ones, as the period was one of the most painful and complex in the country's history. Thus, I was eager to learn how the war era was made compatible with such a sensitive topic like man-boy relationship.But the latter was not much visible in Voor een verloren soldaat (perhaps in the autobiographical novel of the same title - I have not read that); it was even not clearly visible if there was some mutual erotics at all. What we saw was a 20+ years foreign soldier acting as a caring mentor, showing a boy far from home and family new angles of life; besides, I do not believe that showing affection towards a boy would have been normally accepted by both the religious Dutchmen and militant Canadians in those days...Anyway, the mood in the film is pleasant, performances realistic, and viewers obtain a nice overview of Friesland under slackening Nazi occupation. But do not try to find any sensationalism, as mentioned, it is a good depiction of friendship - with some affection - during a war period when many things and deeds are perceived in another way.

I do not quickly give a ten... and perhaps I shouldn't give this movie a ten if I'm honest, because normally I only gave a 10 when I love the music AND the story AND the special effects AND fall in love one of the main characters etc... in other words when the movie is totally perfect. On the other hand, I could say that I give a ten to a movie that really gets into my soul and causes me to still feel strong emotions a week later.I suppose this movie, on my scale, is actually a 9. Nevertheless, it *deserves* a ten. It's one of a kind. I have the utmost respect for the people who made this movie, and the way they made it. I'd like to especially thank Maarten Smit for taking it upon him to do this role. Thank you Maarten, a LOT of people will respect you for this - more than you know.A wonderful movie, a must see for everyone who knows that love isn't limited by age boundaries.

I have to admit that I haven't read the book and after reading comments about it – I am not sure that I will read it at all. The movie however is superb. I have watched it several times by now – with friends of mine and alone. The main character is a young Dutch boy - Jeroen, played by Maarten Smit . He falls in love with Canadian soldier during the time he spends away from Amsterdam in a small village. He is send there by his mother, in order to avoid the starvation in the big Dutch cities during the world war when the food there was never enough.While watching this movie – you will have to decide for yourself if the relationship presented in the movie is acceptable to you or not. The theme song stuck in my mind – as well as and one of my favorite scenes in which Jeroen and Walt run in the field in a very unique way. To me this movie is mainly about friendship, then love – the relationship with Walt made the boy happy, just look the way he smiles when they have their picture taken in one of the scenes. At the same time the ending leaves some questions unanswered- both to the boys and to me as a viewer – was the Canadian soldier just taking an advantage of the boy? And if that is the case I will be disgusted from him. But what if he really loved – but then why he left him? As the movie focuses on the memories of Jeroen , we see that even as an adult he hasn't forget his hero- so there was love and one can only hope this feeling was shared by both main characters.