Saturday, February 27, 2016

Oscar Project 2016: A War

Movie: A War

This Danish film about a soldier and his men in Afghanistan and his wife and children back home did everything I wanted Day One to do as far as digging into the nuances and ambiguities of war and its effects on everyone involved. (But then, it had a lot more time to do so, and I'm really not making a direct comparison between the two.) The war scenes, home front scenes, and courtroom scenes were all equally compelling, and I was completely pulled into Claus and Maria's story even while legitimately torn about Claus's legal situation. I loved the complexities that this set up and the way it ended in a way that felt real and satisfying while providing no easy answers. And lead Pilou Asbaek is, as always, a magnetic presence.

Availability: In a few theaters.

Nominated in:

Foreign Language Film: Sure. It was well-written (so far as I could tell from subtitles), well-acted, and took a nuanced look at hot-button current events while also focusing on interesting, complex, sympathetic characters.

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