All any of us want is a quiet life, especially during war time. You have to feel sorry for Luxembourg then; it’s one of the smallest countries in Europe and they’re not much for making a fuss about anything. Unfortunately for them, they’re landlocked with Belgium, France and Germany. That’s not such a terrible thing now, but during WW2 it was more than just a slight inconvenience.

Being the worst kind of neighbour possible, Germany decided to throw its weight around and despite the country’s policy of neutrality, invaded and occupied its land anyway. Nicolas Steil’s directorial debut then, examines the impact of war on a small town in Luxembourg.

After deciding that being indoctrinated with the vilest of Aryan diatribe at a German university wasn’t his thing, Francois (Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet) decides that he could put his efforts to better use by returning home. But things have changed a great deal since he left.

The Germans are now swarming all over his country; as he doesn’t want to be forced to fight the Allies, Francois has no other choice than to go underground – literally. The Resistance leads him to an abandoned mine, where he joins a group of fellow deserters. They don’t take kindly to strangers however, particularly when living underground in damp and darkened conditions has left many of them ill. An old friend is amongst them, but their relationship is nowhere near what it used to be, with everyone suffering from trusts issues since the start of the war.

The difficulties of living underground soon start to get to Francois; but when he decides to stick his head above ground, he soon realises that even the cover of darkness is no guarantee of safety. As he soon finds out, when a war is on your doorstep, secure places to hide are few and far between.

Listen kid, I know it's dangerous up there, but could you pick me up a Whopper? You can share my fries if you do.

Despite a certain amount of time devoted to life in a mine, the most overriding sense this film delivers is that all the women in Luxembourg had the good sense to leave before the Germans barged their way in. All but one, that is. For the most part, Marianne Basler is the token female in the part of Malou. Without her, this film would have been over-fuelled with testosterone. With her, the film gains some emotional weight, albeit in the most fragile form.

Overall Steil shows a solid competency in the directing chair. Although by no means epic, he manages to conjure up an honest feel for the period.

Where it loses its way somewhat is in the story. It focuses just a little too much on the plight of Francois. The story of deserters hiding out in a mine is a fascinating one, and yet it’s pushed to the side a lot of the time to concentrate on Francois. Perhaps it’s just a case of a fairly lightweight performance from Leprince-Ringuet, who just seems to lack the necessary gravitas to fully pull the role off.

If the underground society featured more in the film, it would have been far more compelling prospect. As it stands though, Undercover War only hints at offering an intriguing story instead of delivering one. But even with that brief glimpse, there’s just about enough here to warrant a 97 minute trip to war-torn Luxembourg.