A War to the war as in war – Le Figaro

When, during the war in Afghanistan, a commander must bear the terrible consequences of a decision on the ground. And accountable to his family.

Source Figaroscope

the feature films shot on the war in Afghanistan on the rise. We remember the remarkable fantasy film Neither heaven nor earth, Clement Cogitore (2015). At Cannes, See the country , Delphine and Muriel Coulin, has received the Best Screenplay in Un Certain Regard. Its release is scheduled on 7 September.

But this week we will discover A War ( krigen ), the third film by Danish director Tobias Lindholm . The first sequence immediately propels us into the violence of war in Afghanistan. An explosion, a soldier mortally wounded, traumatized his comrades. “Rough day,” soberly summarizes the company commander, Michael Pedersen Claus, aka the Pilou Asbæk very convincing actor noticed in The Borgias and already showing the previous films of the director. effective leader, the military are forbidden to express his feelings. He reminded his men that they are there to rescue civilians. Yet Claus himself is shaken. He calls his wife (Tuva Novotny, impeccable), asks to speak to children, they have three. But time, he was again called on the field.

Born in 1977, Tobias Lindholm knows how to do in terms of suspense. He has told the hostage of a Danish cargo ship by Somali pirates in a thriller Hijacking ( Kapringen ), winner in 2012 of Bodil Award, the prize Danish critics best film. He is also the author of the policy series Borgen .

A War , it focuses realistically – the soldiers staged actually fought in Afghanistan – not to a man almost like the others, caught in the cycle of war. A gear that will exceed it. His unit wiped shooting, Claus Michael Pedersen is forced to make a decision that will trigger a “chaotic situation”. The first part shows the character in action, giving orders. In the second, he becomes passive, subject to comments and accusations in a court where he is accountable. Lindholm, in parallel, focusing on the human aspect. He films the family Claus in Denmark, then returning within it. The couple also, he forms with his wife close to him

He said his intention. “I’ve never been a soldier. I never went to war. I have only to observe, through television news and cinema … I wanted to surround myself with people who had experienced war: Danish soldiers and the Taliban, their families and refugees. I had to understand the complexity and logic of conflict, not to establish any truth about the war, because I do not believe that such truth exists, but to tell the story of human beings caught in the vortex of fights. “by showing a man responsible professionally and in his private life, he denounced the complexity of the system and the military hierarchy. And hence, the absurdity of war.

“At War.” Drama Tobias Lindholm. With: Pilou Asbæk, Tuva Novotny. Duration: 1 hour 55

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