‘A War’ depicts complex conflicts

Lindholm’s film balances military, legal politics

LOS ANGELES, Feb 21, (RTRS): Back in 2014, Tobias Lindholm got to share in some Oscar celebrations, as Thomas Vinterberg’s “The Hunt” — which Lindholm co-wrote with the Danish auteur — nabbed a best foreign language film nomination. Two years on, the glory is all his, as “A War”, the 38-year-old’s third film as writer-director, scooped a nod in the same category. Deservedly so, too: A rigorous, sensitive study of an upstanding army commander (superbly played by “Game of Thrones” star Pilou Asbaek) tried for war crimes on his return from Afghanistan, the film deftly balances military and legal politics with equally complex conflicts in the domestic sphere.

“A War” boasts the same blend of procedural detail and human nuance that distinguished Lindholm’s remarkable previous film “A Hijacking” — the nerve-shredding Somali pirate thriller that beat “Captain Phillips” to the punch in 2012. With writing credits on two seasons of international TV sensation “Borgen” and an ongoing creative collaboration with Vinterberg, he’s among the busiest talents on the Danish scene. We caught up with him on the Oscar campaign trail.

Question: We’ve seen a lot of Afghanistan war dramas, but the Danish perspective is a fresh one. What did you set out to do differently?

Answer: The style of war films, and especially the American war films made in the 1970s, meant a lot to me when I was in film school. So with Denmark going to war in Iraq and Afghanistan, I knew there was a story there to tell. I just couldn’t find my way in until I read an interview

of Will Ferrell and former president Bill Clinton urging voters to caucus in Nevada.

“Caucus ... for Hillary,” Ferrell says with a Danish officer who was going on his third tour to Afghanistan, and said he wasn’t afraid of being killed down there — he was afraid of being prosecuted when he got back home.

Indeed, the war at home — not just the legal case, but the domestic tension that awaits returning soldiers — is evenly balanced with the combat drama.

Often in war films, we see the dehumanization of a soldier: A young man joins the military, is sent to war and is bloated as a human being. So I decided to humanize him instead. Instead of it just being a soldier in uniform, I wanted to make him a full human being: somebody’s husband and somebody’s father. And that became my emotional window: I have not been a soldier, I’ve never been to war, but I am a father of three small children. I know the complexity and the drama in that. So it’s not only about the soldiers, but the families that need to live without their fathers and mothers for months. So many people whose lives are changing because of the decision to go to war. I felt it was right to, instead of just doing a plain soldiers-at-war film, to try and take society’s perspective. A lot of human beings have three sides: You’re a professional, a private person and a citizen. You are part of a democracy. Those three arenas became the three arenas of the film.

Q: While we see the damage done to multiple parties by the conflict, I wouldn’t simply call it an “anti-war film”. Is that fair?

A: My point was to make a film where, instead of choosing between good and evil, we could prove the complexity of war. If you accept that

at one point in the video as he poses for pictures with fans.

Ferrell was among the prominent enter- life is complex, there is no easy way out. It’s way too easy to have the discussion of whether you’re for or against war. That’s pointless. The war is over. There’s not that many soldiers there now. Let’s have a conversation about what has actually happened down there and what can we learn from it. Hopefully a film like this can help remind us there is no black and white, only all the colors between.

Q: Your research ended up affecting your casting process. Can you explain?

A: The first guy I met ended up acting in the film as well: a guy my own age who had been on four tours to Iraq and Afghanistan. Just listening to the stories he told I knew that there was a lot of stuff that hadn’t been told. I decided to work very closely with him and the friends that he had served with. Suddenly I had a small soccer team of soldiers, each with their own experience and point of view, to help me understand what a life in war means. Then I decided to use them in the film as actors instead of casting professionals in those roles; they knew what their characters were feeling and talking about.

Q: Though for your leading man, of course, you reunited with a regular collaborator, Pilou Asbaek. Was that even a discussion?

A: I knew from the beginning that I was writing for Pilou. When I got the idea I called him immediately and asked if he’d be free to shoot two years later. We’ve been working together for almost 10 years, and it’s become a friendship where we are now sharing lives, privately and professionally, which is a joy. On set, we don’t even

tainment industry figures backing Bernie Sanders in a list the campaign released in September, and is still among those named have to speak that much anymore — we just instinctively know what we’re looking for in a scene. For me, he’s the best European actor of his generation; I guess I’m the only one who’s cheering for him to get killed in “Game of Thrones”, so I can get him back.

Q: The presence of Asbaek in the lead is one of several aspects “A War” has in common with “A Hijacking” — even the titles reflect each other. Did you intend for it to be a companion piece of sorts?

A: I did. With “A Hijacking”, we started to move toward the atmosphere and honesty in a film that I was looking for. But I didn’t feel that we took it all the way. So, with the cinematographer and the editor, we tried to find places where we could elevate our film language. The point was for the two films would be related; our hope that we could take all the best stuff from “A Hijacking”, and just tell the rest a little better.

Q: You mentioned the US war cinema of the 1970s as an influence. Were there any particular titles you referred back to in the creative process?

A: The closest one would be “The Deer Hunter”, which describes the lives before, during and after the war. I learned a lot from watching that. How can we identify with these soldiers? How can we humanize them? How can we give them something that’s more than just being a soldier? And it’s not from the 70s, but “The Hurt Locker” meant a lot to me as well. It’s such a strong, honest film. And then there’s the American documentary “Restrepo”, which helped with the logic of where to put the camera and how we could stay close to the soldiers.

as endorsing the candidate on Sanders’ website. (RTRS)

TAMPA, Florida:

Police unions are criticizing Beyonce in the wake of her Super Bowl halftime act and new video, calling for a boycott because they think her work contains “anti-police” messages.

Unions in Miami, Tampa and Nashville, Tennessee, are either calling for officers to boycott her music or urging them not volunteer to work at her shows.

Javier Ortiz, president of the Miami union, said this week that “Beyoncé used this year’s Super Bowl to divide Americans by promoting the Black Panthers and her anti-police message shows how she does not support law enforcement.” (AP)

SPRINGFIELD, Mass:

A federal judge in Massachusetts has rejected a request by lawyers for Bill Cosby’s wife to delay a deposition scheduled for next week.

Camille Cosby is slated to answer questions under oath in a defamation lawsuit brought against her husband by seven women who say he sexually assaulted them decades ago.

The women allege Cosby defamed them by branding them liars after they went public with allegations of sexual assault. Cosby has denied their allegations and filed a countersuit. (AP)