Movie Review: A War (Danish)

There can be never be easy questions, and easy answers, when it comes to wars. And when they unfold in Afghanistan, in the context of safekeeping the civilians from terrorist outfits like the Taliban, they acquire a manifold complexity. Opinions on whether the war, unleashed in the country by the United States and its allied NATO forces in the wake of 9/11 attacks, has achieved its intended goal still continue to be hotly debated (in other words, if it's a pyrrhic victory), but there is no shred of doubt that its ramifications are reverberating across the world unabated. Taliban still continues to be a force to reckon and the decline of al-Qaeda has paved way for an even more dangerous foe, the Islamic State.

But what of the soldiers, who put themselves at the frontline, leading the ground assault against the terrorists? Part war thriller, part courtroom drama, director Tobias Lindholm examines themes of accountability, grief, guilt and separation in this poignant stunner of a film, beautifully juxtaposing the lives of people in the war-torn country and the life back home in Denmark. At one point in the movie, when company commander Claus M. Pedersen confronts an innocent Afghan family fearing for their lives, he insists them they return to their home, adding he himself is a father of three children and that he can understand what they are going through, while hoping this would diffuse the tension. But to his surprise, the Afghani family man fires back saying, "So what, they live in a safe place." A War (Krigen in Danish) is as unforgettable as a war drama can get, bolstered by terrific natural performances from its ensemble cast.