magnolia pictures
A War is emotionally powerful
By GTVW Staff
Photo :Courtesy
Magnolia Pictures will open Danish filmmaker Tobias Lindholm’s (Writer/Director of A HIJACKING; Co-writer of THE HUNT and “Borgen”) bruising and brooding third feature, A war, begins with commander Claus M. Pedersen (Pilou Asbæk, star of the upcoming sixth season of Game of Thrones) and his men are stationed in an Afghan province. Meanwhile, back in Denmark, Claus’ wife Maria (Tuva Novotny) is trying to hold everyday life together with a husband at war and three children who are missing their father. During a routine mission, the soldiers are caught in heavy crossfire and in order to save his men, Claus makes a decision that has grave consequences for not only him, but also for his family back home. As Lindholm did with his gripping hostage drama A HIJACKING, he once again employs those who have been closest to the conflict. In A war he uses Danish soldiers and Taliban warriors, relatives and refugees, as he strives towards realism. Definitely is a film that involved ethics and legal chaos in the battled field. Therefore, many parts of the plot were well managed with sensitivity and detail. Many scenes reflect the humane side and the stressful moments of a martial court. Be a commander officer means to accomplish any kind of duty and foremost to ensure the safety of his soldiers and to treat all Afghans, without distinction, as potential enemies. The best and well rounded characters and brilliantly played in each scene.
A lie can ruin your whole life: The Hunt
By Jenny Alvarez
Photo: Courtesy
The Hunt was directed and co-written by Thomas Vinterberg, the film is a disturbing depiction of how a lie becomes the truth when gossip, doubt and malice are allowed to flourish and ignite a witch-hunt that soon threatens to destroy an innocent man’s life.
Lucas (Mads Mikkelsen) is a man whose career is ruined because of a 5-year-old girl’s false accusation of molestation. The screenplay is a master class in exposition, drama, character portraiture and sequence of many scenes and sensitive topics are involved such as sex abuse, mistrustfulness from of a small Danish community which needs to be handled with the sort of care afforded to genuine victims. The main victims strike a false note or soften the impact with consolatory sentiment while the truth comes out. This film is not an attack on the legal system that deals with child abuse investigations. The theme of the police and courts failing the innocent and protecting the guilty of Lucas during the legal proceedings into his accusations. The director assured a message full of discrepancies, intolerance, and resentment but at the same time each character is coming from- you might not agree with their actions, but nothing they do feels forced or unrealistic. This movie will make stay alert for any new Danish production because it is true art and won the Best Screenwriter prize at the 2012 European Film Awards, and was nominated for prizes in a number of other categories, including Best Film, Director and Actor. Magnolia Pictures will release the film theatrically in New York and Los Angeles on July 12, with a national rollout to follow.
