+ Best War Movie of the Year
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| A simple yet powerful image provides the poster for Tobias Lindholm's A War |
Krigen [the war] is the third feature from great Danish writer-director Tobias Lindholm (The Hunt/Jagten (2012), writer), by some referred to as the first real Danish war movie ever, because it contains scenes of Danish soldiers at war abroad, although this distinction is certainly up for debate.
We follow a Danish commander of a military outfit in Afghanistan's Helmand-province, who is in charge of patrolling and attempting to aid the local populace. - A job that is difficult if not utterly impossible due to, especially, the Taliban's reign of terror over the Afghanis.
Lindholm impressively triumphs once again here with A War, which is a very human portrayal of the Danish contribution in the Afghan War. A War is a strong and poignant film that works on several levels and carries its heart, - both for the soldiers as well as their families at home and for the civilian Afghanis affected by the war, - on its sleeve.
A War makes it obvious that the mission in Afghanistan was usually one step forward and two steps back. This is disheartening but seems to have been a fact. It showcases different types of soldiers and locals and succeeds in letting them stand out as human beings as opposed to mere character types.
A pattern is beginning to show in Lindholm's own films, (he has also scripted for several of the biggest Danish enterprises in film and TV in recent years.) His films, R: Hit First, Hit Hardest/R (2010), A Hijacking/Kapringen (2012) and now A War are all minimalistic portrayals of a Danish man played by Pilou Asbæk (Speed Walking/Kapgang (2014)), who might as well be simply called 'the Dane', because the particulars of his characters aren't all that important. What's important is what he goes through in the different films; a sentence in a Danish prison, a hijacking by Somalian pirates and here, the war in Afghanistan. All three films are tense, lean, realistic and well-crafted drama-thrillers with societal relevance.
Lindholm's 'formula' clearly works. I'm all for each of these films. I wonder if perhaps he will venture something more personal to himself in a future film?
Pilou Asbæk, Tuva Novotny and Søren Malling in Tobias Lindholm's A War
A War also works, of course, because of its great performances:
Asbæk is once again a commanding, sensitive lead, and Swedish Tuva Novotny (Eat Pray Love (2010)) also deserves praise for her vital, strong performance as his wife. Lindholm regulars Søren Malling (A Hijacking), Dar Salim (Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014)) and Dulfi Al-Jabouri (Northwest/Nordvest (2013)) give fine supporting performances, and Charlotte Munck (Shake Your Heart/En Kort En Lang (2001)) is sober and believable SPOILER as prosecutor, as the film turns into a courtroom drama in its second half. This development is quite well-observed and speaks to the consequences and long aftermath of any war.
A War is accompanied by sparse, atmospheric music. Several of the soldiers in the film are played by actual Danish Afghanistan veterans, which only heightens the film's realism and integrity. They speak in military code, and much of what they say is unintelligible to the commoner. I also had trouble hearing the dialog in general, and as is often the case I wished that all movies were simply subtitled, so that it was possible to read what can't be heard, even when the language spoken is your own.
A War is an honest and strong film, certainly among the best Danish films of the year. I give it a warm recommendation.
Related posts:
Tobias Lindholm: 2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]
2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
A Hijacking/Kapringen (2012) - Realistic piracy negotiation drama-thriller, minimalist-Scandinavian style
The Hunt/Jagten (2012) - Vinterberg's strongest film since 1998 is a reversed Celebration (writer)
Cost: Unknown
Box office: Unknown
= Uncertainty
[A War was produced by Nordisk Film and DR, with an 8 million DKR grant from the Danish Film Institute, filmed in Denmark, Turkey, Spain and Jordan and premiered at Venice International Film Festival. Its current admissions tally in Denmark stands at just 27k, far from success status.]
What do you think of A War?
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