WILL tells the story of two police officers who are forced to choose between collaborating with the Nazis or resisting their rule during World War II. The film is now streaming on Netflix.
Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers
Plot summary
In 1942, two young men, Wilfried, better known as Wil, and Lode, join the Antwerp police force in Nazi-occupied Antwerp.
On the very first day, they are instructed to stand by and let the Germans do whatever they want, even though the Antwerp police are supposed to be the buffer between the Germans and the locals.
That night, Wil and Lode are approached by a German Feldgendarm, who was on his way to their police station to request police escorts.
The Feldgendarm asks them to escort him to the house of a Jewish man named Lizke. While leaving, Wil and Lode’s superior, Jean, sees them with the Feldgendarm.
Wil and Lode do nothing as the Feldgendarm takes Lizke’s money and captures his family. Even when Lizke’s wife tries to escape with her daughter, Wil and Lode do not stop her.
Once the Feldgendarm catches Lizke’s wife and daughter and starts beating them up, Wil and Lode protect them, killing the Feldgendarm in the process.
Wil and Lode hide the Feldgendarm’s body in a manhole and let Lizke get away with his family. The incident leaves Wil and Lode shaken.
The next day, the German Secret Police comes to the police station to inquire about the Feldgendarm’s disappearance, but Jean denies seeing him.
Gregor, an officer of the Secret Police, suspects Wil and Lode and makes them witness the execution of a group of Communists, but Wil and Lode still do not reveal the truth.
However, they do tell their families about the incident. Wil’s father asks Mr. Verschaffel, an influential anti-Semite who is friends with Gregor, for his help.
Wil takes his father and Mr. Verschaffel to the place where the Feldgendarm’s body is supposed to be, only to find it missing.
Additionally, now that Verschaffel knows about the murder, Wil must comply with his demands. Wil is a talented painter, and Verschaffel wishes to make use of his talents.
Wil then meets Lode’s family, including his sister, Yvette, who does not trust Wil. Lode’s family is involved with a resistance group called the White Brigade.
One day, Wil accompanies Verschaffel to a theater and learns that a mob of anti-Semites is going to attack a synagogue. Wil rushes to the police station to report this.
Initially, Lode thinks that Wil is with the mob, but he realizes that is not the case when Wil tells him that he found Lizke’s family.
Wil provided refuge for the family in a house that Verschaffel acquired from a Jewish family without Verschaffel’s knowledge.
Lode starts trusting Wil enough to confide in him about his family’s involvement with the White Brigade and that it was them who disposed of the Feldgendarm’s body in the Willem Dock.
Wil, in turn, decides to join the White Brigade, and like all other members, he is assigned a code name: Angelo.
Wil spends time with Verschaffel and his group. Any information he gathers about the raids is relayed to the White Brigade, who warn the Jews beforehand.
While working together, Wil and Yvette fall in love. At the same time, Gregor and his informant in the Antwerp police force, Edouard, figure out that there is a mole within their circle.
Soon after, when Wil goes dancing with Yvette, Wil’s aunt introduces him to her new boyfriend, who turns out to be Gregor.
Gregor is with Wil’s aunt only because he wants to find out Wil’s secrets. To get Wil to expose his secrets, Gregor provokes Wil into drinking more than he can handle.
Gregor then questions Wil about the night the Feldgendarm died. Although Wil does not disclose any information, he fails to be there for Yvette when she needs him the most.
In a drunken state, Wil gets into a fight with one of the men in Gregor’s circle and ends up revealing that the body of the Feldgendarm is in the Willem Dock.
The next day, Gregor’s men take Wil to meet him. The Secret Police have found the Feldgendarm’s body where Wil said it would be.
They are now certain that someone from Wil’s police station, and not the Communists, killed him because, on the night of his death, the Feldgendarm was supposed to go to the station to request police escorts.
One of Gregor’s men tortures and kills Jean, as he had told Gregor that the Feldgendarm never came to the police station that night.
Gregor lets Wil go, but not without threatening him. On top of that, Verschaffel finds the Jewish family Wil had hidden in the house.
Ending explained:
Lizke’s family’s unsuccessful escape attempt
After discovering that Wil betrayed him, Verschaffel gives Wil a chance to redeem himself. He wants Wil to kill Lizke’s family.
Before Wil can take any action, Lizke’s wife stabs Verschaffel first. The family only lets their guard down when they realize that Wil has no intention of hurting them.
Lizke and Wil hide Verschaffel’s body. Soon after, Wil and Lode bring the family fake passports and help them get out of Antwerp.
However, Lizke and his family do not make it out of Antwerp unharmed because they get caught by the Germans.
Gregor’s deal
Apart from Lizke and his family, the Germans also find the person who made their fake passports. The forger is a member of the White Brigade.
Although the forger only knows Yvette, Lode, and Wil by their code names, Gregor easily figures out who the forger is referring to.
When Wil is brought face to face with the forger, Gregor confirms that Wil is Angelo. Instead of arresting Wil, Gregor offers him a deal that will save his family and Yvette.
He wants Wil to give false information to the White Brigade. In return, he will not harm Wil and his loved ones.
Survival vs. conscience
Wil tells Yvette and Lode about Gregor’s offer. However, Yvette wants him to disclose the actual location of the raid, not the one that Gregor wants him to give to the White Brigade.
While Wil prioritizes his own survival, Yvette prefers to die than go against her conscience. Wil ends up revealing to her that the raid is supposed to happen at Pelikaanstraat.
Yvette relays this information to the White Brigade, informing them that the Secret Police wants them to believe it will occur at Terliststraat when the real target is Pelikaanstraat.
It is then revealed that the raid is happening at Terliststraat, not Pelikaanstraat. To save himself and his loved ones, Wil had provided false information to Yvette.
Wil and Lode, along with other police officers, are forced to participate in the raid. They see innocent Jews getting captured and killed.
Wil and Lode also play a role in their persecution. Yvette arrives and witnesses their involvement in capturing the Jews. Devastated and disappointed, Yvette runs away.
Wil chases her, but he does not get to talk to her. He watches helplessly as Yvette takes her own life by throwing herself in front of a train.
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