The brutality of war can come in different forms, and while I personally have never been in the armed services, I have certainly taken charge and looked after my teammates. I liked the direction of this movie and where it was headed. It shows that if a person is thrown into the spotlight, what are the right decisions to make and not only for yourself, but for the safety of your team. Even though their wasn't any explicit violence or actual war, it shows us that if circumstances or events suddenly happen, or are thrust upon us, then how would we react. There were times when I was getting frustrated and annoyed on the slow reactions, but I believe this is what the director wanted, as to really draw the viewer in, and this is what makes a good movie. I really did enjoy the movie as a whole, and as always, this movie shows us that you don't have to be on the frontline for it to affect one's mind. I recommend it.
6 Reviews
DO NO EVIL
MadamWarden29 March 2022
Don't expect the occupied to like you
johne-9689528 January 2022
Watched this film last night and still thinking about this morning, always the mark of a good film. The makers have given you very few facts and so you assume it's making a point about an occupying army. This is a story about soldiers not a war film. In an unspecified occupied country, on a patrol whose mission is never stated, an expensive personnel carrier is damaged and a small number of soldiers are left to guard it. Although the time is relatively short they feel abandoned with no effective leader. The clash of cultures of the western soldiers and a local lad is stark, neither understands the other. A lesson in the limitation of military solutions.
Innocence vs violence
witra_as17 June 2022
This Dutch war drama in bleak 4:3 aspect ratio felt somewhat incomplete. I wish Shariff Korver could delve deeper into complexities of human nature. Three young soldiers raised interesting questions about innocence vs violence under difficult circumstances.
Uses gaps to good effect, although narrow.
welshnew5025 March 2022
Warning: Spoilers
This movie does succeed at portraying not "losing touch with reality", or however it's been plot-synopsised,..
-but, a range of emotiotional tolerances freying and then failing, in a high-pressure rescue/needing-to-stay-hidden situation, that leads to a non-hostile being murdered by the team of three's captain,
and then in the compressed sequences in the remainder of the film, the disconnectedness of-involvement of reparations / compensation for the innocent victims of war, disgustingly, tragicly, contrasts-with the only officially recorded on-paper act to compensate for, a killed goat, leaves a human-murder crime un-addressed,
of which the soldiers unceremonially / culturally-insensitivly also bury the child with the goat, in a roadside grave,
and the level of preparedness of-honesty of the soldiers themselves, vs. State-interests & the state's un-willingness to involve soldiers PERSONALLY with those they've wronged,..
...creates a sense of DISTANCE, that in the final scene, comes back to haunt the capitan while he's trying to forget, and portrays (potential) subconscious sensitivity even-over long distances, if-not-simply what that inhuman disconenction between the offender and the victim causes, of/in imagination, from-guilt.
It uses a mixture of long and face-focused emotional shots, as-well-as medium distance ones to follow the soldiers perspective from a easy to follow height and shot-setting-up, and it doesn't waste too much time in transitions, which keeps you able to follow the plot without getting tired of the same atmosphere, since the film concentrates on the characters' emotions and choices - if it'd been too atmospheric, the contrast-between choices could've become less-theatrical, and lost audience-focus.
---
On the downsides of the film, more background & history in countries in the middle-east / arabia / steppes , could've framed both why strong centralised government has failed tin some countries many times (as-have forced centralisation), as-well-as the on&off nature of support of both Russia and the USA at different times, that has lead to the inundation of military equipment and forced-exposure to modern warfare, that has caused the tragedy of what many in those areas have gone-through emotionally themselves, in effective-contrast,..
... and-also framed the setting as one where common herders/pastoralists are NOT some kind of endless army of ready, active, hostiles, which might've given them more of a contrast-with active military hostiles, similarly, the odd choice of the capitain to hide in their vehicle with the child, when potentially already spotted followed by the locals walking all over it, with the camera only on the inside, kept a, 'alien' portrayal throughout the film, and if wanting to contrast choices, a few short herder-frontman conversations and a more-complete dialogue in the hiding in the vehicle scene, would've portrayed the capitain's precaution if-not-also-paranoia, better - instead, we only see the emotions and intentions of the child-victim, and that really isn't exposing the audience to the wider-people/s , nor any cultural-differences, then quite easily comparable with high-tech armies capacities & experience & precautions.
The focus on themselves and their own military and the story leading to the situation on the road, leaves the audience to contrast what the 3 are expecting of-enemies, in-contrast to innocent farmers/herders , themselves, which for many audience members, is not difficult to notice, but for some watching this movie with a precautious / accepting mindset of 'readiness' used in-discriminately, it could've been better with more contrast made un-avoidable, if-not also spoken by characters along-the-way , or did i miss it? *shrugs*
-but, a range of emotiotional tolerances freying and then failing, in a high-pressure rescue/needing-to-stay-hidden situation, that leads to a non-hostile being murdered by the team of three's captain,
and then in the compressed sequences in the remainder of the film, the disconnectedness of-involvement of reparations / compensation for the innocent victims of war, disgustingly, tragicly, contrasts-with the only officially recorded on-paper act to compensate for, a killed goat, leaves a human-murder crime un-addressed,
of which the soldiers unceremonially / culturally-insensitivly also bury the child with the goat, in a roadside grave,
and the level of preparedness of-honesty of the soldiers themselves, vs. State-interests & the state's un-willingness to involve soldiers PERSONALLY with those they've wronged,..
...creates a sense of DISTANCE, that in the final scene, comes back to haunt the capitan while he's trying to forget, and portrays (potential) subconscious sensitivity even-over long distances, if-not-simply what that inhuman disconenction between the offender and the victim causes, of/in imagination, from-guilt.
It uses a mixture of long and face-focused emotional shots, as-well-as medium distance ones to follow the soldiers perspective from a easy to follow height and shot-setting-up, and it doesn't waste too much time in transitions, which keeps you able to follow the plot without getting tired of the same atmosphere, since the film concentrates on the characters' emotions and choices - if it'd been too atmospheric, the contrast-between choices could've become less-theatrical, and lost audience-focus.
---
On the downsides of the film, more background & history in countries in the middle-east / arabia / steppes , could've framed both why strong centralised government has failed tin some countries many times (as-have forced centralisation), as-well-as the on&off nature of support of both Russia and the USA at different times, that has lead to the inundation of military equipment and forced-exposure to modern warfare, that has caused the tragedy of what many in those areas have gone-through emotionally themselves, in effective-contrast,..
... and-also framed the setting as one where common herders/pastoralists are NOT some kind of endless army of ready, active, hostiles, which might've given them more of a contrast-with active military hostiles, similarly, the odd choice of the capitain to hide in their vehicle with the child, when potentially already spotted followed by the locals walking all over it, with the camera only on the inside, kept a, 'alien' portrayal throughout the film, and if wanting to contrast choices, a few short herder-frontman conversations and a more-complete dialogue in the hiding in the vehicle scene, would've portrayed the capitain's precaution if-not-also-paranoia, better - instead, we only see the emotions and intentions of the child-victim, and that really isn't exposing the audience to the wider-people/s , nor any cultural-differences, then quite easily comparable with high-tech armies capacities & experience & precautions.
The focus on themselves and their own military and the story leading to the situation on the road, leaves the audience to contrast what the 3 are expecting of-enemies, in-contrast to innocent farmers/herders , themselves, which for many audience members, is not difficult to notice, but for some watching this movie with a precautious / accepting mindset of 'readiness' used in-discriminately, it could've been better with more contrast made un-avoidable, if-not also spoken by characters along-the-way , or did i miss it? *shrugs*
Probably don't bother
pfarnell23 January 2022
Warning: Spoilers
I don't know exactly which north African country it is or which modern conflict there involved Dutch troops, and this is not explained in the movie is frustrating. Perhaps a written preface piece at the beginning could have explained. I don't know of any former Dutch colonies in Africa, Belgian, yes, but not Dutch. They do not appear to be UN peacekeepers either, no blue helmets, although, I think I might have seen a UN flag at their camp at the end. So, who the hell are they., where the hell is it exactly, and why the hell are they there? Sigh.
Not sure what we are to make of the local urchin who refuses to either leave OR make friends with them.preferring to demand things from them whilst responding with fits of screaming abuse, anyway, presumably he is mentally-ill. They eventually -understandably-at last- grew weary of his antics and grimly silenced him. That and knowing that the movie was in its last minutes were gratifying. I DID feel sorry for that poor goat, though. But $50 sounds like a lot of money for a goat in that area.
1Hour 50 mins of my life I won't get back.
Not sure what we are to make of the local urchin who refuses to either leave OR make friends with them.preferring to demand things from them whilst responding with fits of screaming abuse, anyway, presumably he is mentally-ill. They eventually -understandably-at last- grew weary of his antics and grimly silenced him. That and knowing that the movie was in its last minutes were gratifying. I DID feel sorry for that poor goat, though. But $50 sounds like a lot of money for a goat in that area.
1Hour 50 mins of my life I won't get back.
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