Armadillo
Janus Metz:
Armadillo (Denmark, 2010)
100 min. - Danish - Finnish subtitles
Age limit 16 years
Danish Armadillo is one of the best war films there is. And not merely in the genre of documentaries but films in general. Janus Metz’s film about Danish soldiers in Afghanistan won the prestigious Semaine de la Critique Award at Cannes Film Festival, and in addition to critics’ praise, the film also grew popular among larger audiences – it is the second most watched documentary in Denmark. And no wonder as Armadillo simply is magnificent.
Armadillo strips all the romance off of war. Young Mads and Daniel travel to Afghanistan innocent, seeking for an adventure with war games flashing behind their eyelids. The reality, however, is… real. War is not beautiful. Bullets kill real people. The pastimes in the base, games and porn, do not salvage from the thoughts that build up inside. Bitterness and paranoia increase as the peacekeeping operations get more and more complicated. Morals draw further and further away.
Metz’s film looks and feels like fiction, but it is more real than anyone wants it to be. From time to time, you are forced to remind yourself that these people are not actors, everything here has happened and still keeps happening. The war pours over the viewer unavoidably. Armadillo has raised discussions concerning the morals of peacekeepers, but above all, it is a film about the madness of war – no matter what side you are on.
Fri 16th Nov at 8:00pm Tapio 3