Armadillo (2010)

The conflict in Afghanistan has led to an upsurge of documentaries on the subject of war . One problem is trying to do something different with the theme , after all chronicles all the way back to Plato have wrestled with the subject and I think it's safe to say as long as humanity exists so will war because it's an unfortunate part of the human condition . Once in a while a documentary like Morgan Matthews THE FALLEN comes along that focuses on the gut wrenching , heart breaking element of those left behind during and after the conflict . Indeed I have no hesitation in saying THE FALLEN is the greatest documentary I have ever seen and works on so many levels . Usually however a documentary on the war in Afghanistan such as the BBCs OUR WAR and the American documentary RESTROPO is done on a fly on the wall documentary style giving the foot soldier's point of view of war . The Danish documentary ARMADILLO follows this tradition One of the problems of portraying any war is that there's an unconscious parochial jingoism to the conflict . The average Briton on the street who has followed the war in Afghanistan will be under the impression that the only NATO soldiers in Helmand province will be British which isn't true . It's not the result of bad war reportage - or at least not the worst result of war reportage - that's responsible for this merely that news broadcaster will concentrate on units involving " our boys " hence a Canadian will think of Kandahar Province being policed by entirely Canadian units , a Briton thinks Helmand Province is an entirely British affair and an American thinking the entire NATO mission to the country being an exclusively American operation . If nothing else ARMADILLO shows it's a joint effort involving many different countries , in this case a 760 strong Danish battle group embedded with British led forces in Helmand What ARMADILLO isn't so good at is bringing anything new to the old cliché of war being defined as 99 per cent boredom and one per cent terror " and like so many other documentaries on the subject shows tentative soldiers moving through dusty groves then a bang of an explosion and the rattle of gunfire . What it does do is point out the problems that have constantly plagued the NATO effort , one that the enemy conduct their war mainly via IED in the hidden in the shadows behind a civilian population and a civilian population at the mercy of the Taliban . As a village elder tells a Danish platoon leader " If we tell you anything the Taliban will slit our throats " . Say what you like about democracy but it's surely the least form of government

This is and will always be the best war movie ever. A war movie without acting, a movie that shows what real combat looks like in the eyes of a soldier. From when they leave there loved ones at the airport to when they come home after 6 months fighting the Taliban forces in Afganistan. The movie shows strong scenes and close quarter combat like you have never seen before. This movie made me want to join the army more than ever. To watch these soldiers fight side by side, back to back, protecting each others from the enemy is just so inspiring. This is no recreation of a war incident, this is real war combat. If you like war movies this is a movie for you, no doubt. A beautiful movie.The movie had gotten some bad criticism because of what the soldiers did in the movie. I will not say to much, but it involves how they treated the enemy after they was down. My opinion is f**k Taliban. I enjoyed every minute of it, especially the scene that i was talking about. And to add a bonus, me and some other students got a opportunity to see two of the movie makers explain how they made the movie.

As the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have dragged on they have produced an increasing number of provocative war documentaries that have shattered many of the myths about the black-and-white absolutes of war that have often been sold to those on the home front. Armadillo, which screened this week at Austin's SXSW Film Festival, is one of the best films yet produced about the reality of life during a war. The film follows a Danish unit assigned to Helmand Provence in Afghanistan during a 6 months tour. The filmmakers hold nothing back in this intimate portrait of soldiers at war. They present a picture of young men who seem to lose their humanity in the brutal circumstances of war. The visceral picture of combat is harrowing and the filmmakers should be commended for what they have captured on film.Americans need to see films like Armadillo as they contemplate why we are in Afghanistan. A film like Armadillo makes us ask ourselves if this war worth the human cost that we are paying and what it is doing to the soldiers that we are sending to fight these wars. The film has caused considerable controversy in Denmark. We need more films like it to bring this controversy to highly complacent America.

This documentary about war in Afghanistan is simply a "masterpiece" by Janus Metz Pedersen. It covers a 6-month period of the lives of Danish soldiers in Afghanistan, showing us the daily life of a soldier in this war. It also shows the side of the local civilian people of Afghanistan, the way their lives are spoiled by this war and mostly by the way that the foreign powers are acting there. Local people are desperate by a war that not only offers nothing to them but also kills their families and makes them suffer even more.Unique photography. Great camera handling. Non-biased and truthful. 90 minutes full of reality and sentiment at the same time.DON'T MISS IT.