In "Flandres," the region referred to in the film's title (located in northern France) is breathtaking in its untarnished beauty. The light -- golden and buttery -- drenches the landscape in an intricately magical, Vermeer-like way. There is, however, nothing remotely idyllic about the film itself; the main theme here seems to be that (contrary to what Jean Jacques Rousseau said) rustic reflections are not born from a rustic setting. Indeed, in "Flandres" no one seems to think or even converse much, relying on instinct alone to get through the day.
Barbe (Adelaide Leroux) has turned herself into the town slut, sleeping with every male who shows the slightest interest, engaging in brief, animal-like trysts in fields and inside barns. Her childhood friend Demester (Samuel Boidin) is no exception -- though the pair seem to have feelings for each other beyond urges for instant copulation. Demester, however, lacks the inner resources to deal with, much less articulate, his feelings, and when someone asks him (in the town's only cafe) whether Barbe is his girlfriend, he brusquely answers no. Barbe is capable of being hurt by such a remark, but she too lacks the means to express it, and she goes off to have more random sex just to spite Demester.
Things would have gone on like this forever, it seems, until a war in an unspecified destination (the scenes were shot in Tunisia) sweeps up and takes away most of the young men in Barbe's town, including Demester.