When you think of Belgium, you probably think of chocolate, waffles and beer. You would also probably think that those three things go pretty well together, and you’d be partial to all three right about now.

And you could certainly eat all three watching a film, of which the country itself also produces, but obviously not in the same quantities.

Flemish writer and director Leonardo Van Dijl serves up a drama focusing on a young tennis star.

Proving herself to be a true talent at a tennis academy is Julie (Tessa Van den Broeck). There’s every indication that she has what it takes to turn professional, but there’s a slight stumbling block in her progress.

One of her peers within the academy has recently committed suicide, and her coach has come under investigation. It just so happens that he was also Julie’s coach, which means that she and a number of her friends will also be interviewed.

During this period Julie starts to struggle academically, and no one seems to know why, but there is something troubling Julie, but she’s not saying anything to anyone.

This is Van Dijl’s directorial debut, with his young star Broeck also making her screen acting debut.

This is Van Dijl’s directorial debut, with his young star Broeck also making her screen acting debut.

There’s a lot for Broeck to do; not only does she have to appear competent at the sport, which she does looking Wimbledon ready as she does, but she also has to give an indication of the emotional torment she’s suffering from.

This emotional torment is a little less obvious, through no fault of her own. Van Dijl is keen to make his protagonist not only quiet about what happened around family and friends, but also his audience. But by keeping us as much in the dark and as everyone else, it makes it difficult to empathise with Julie, without knowing what actually happened. Van Dijl eventually drip feeds the bare bones, but really it’s not enough; we really needed Julie to open up, finally, to let everyone know what happened, and more importantly, how she feels about the entire situation.

Instead we get perhaps one too many scenes of her practicing, despite the fact that it’s already been established she’s pretty good at this tennis lark.

Maybe that’s what Van Dijl was honing in on, the kind of focus that is needed by professional athletes and sports people to succeed, at the cost of anything else. But without an emotional outpouring as such – besides a solitary tear, which to be fair, is powerful – makes it a struggle to relate to Julie’s mental struggle and how she processes it.

Kudos to young Broeck on her acting debut, which must have been draining physically if nothing else, but by keeping the audience just as much in the dark as everyone else regarding her emotional state, Julie’s silence makes for a pretty apathetic return from anyone watching.