Review of Armadillo (2010) by Aaron A — 21 Oct 2011

Synopsis: Documentarian Janus Metz Pedersen hunkers down with a platoon of Danish soldiers on a six-month Afghan tour of duty, and his exceptional access yields a field-level view of the boredom, adrenaline and confusion that comprise their daily routine.

This film shares many similarities with the american war documentary Restrepo, chief among them is the fact that they cover the same war. However, the film also differs greatly in many key respects. The first and most immediate is of course the fact that it is a foreignly produced picture about a foreign group of soldiers, which has an enormous impact on it's theme. These danish fighters are fighting a war that the american government initiated, but I shall let you draw your own opinions on that subject.

Apart from the battles depicted, Armadillo's most important distinction is it's filmmaking. Compared to Restrepo, the film has a decidedly more stagey feeling, as if many of the events and conversations were delivered intentionally. What this (theoretically) allows is apparently a greater emphasis on cinematography, as the film is strikingly filmed.

Armadillo is a surreal, and often times visceral document on war, and an excellent companion piece to Restrepo.