Lorber Lands Explosive ‘Armadillo’

Finally. Someone has picked up the rights on one of the best documentary films you might see all year. Collecting tons of accolades since it premiered and won in the Critic’s Week section in Cannes, Lorber Films have nabbed Janus Metz’s Armadillo before it goes unto more damage on the awards front. A 2011 release is expected for the Afghanistan war doc which should grab a couple of wins from the six categories it was nominated for at this year’s Cinema Eye awards.

Gist: The Afghanistan war via a Danish perspective, this is described as an upfront account of growing cynicism and adrenaline addiction for young soldiers at war. Mads and Daniel are on their first mission in Helmand, Afghanistan. Their platoon is stationed in Camp Armadillo, right on the Helmand frontline, fighting tough battles against the Taliban. The soldiers are there to help the Afghan people, but as fighting gets tougher and operations increasingly hairy, Mads, Daniel and their friends become cynical, widening the gap between themselves and the Afghan civilization.

Worth Noting: Adding one more notch to its award’s post, Armadillo just picked up the Grierson Award at the BFI London Film Festival for, you guessed it, Best Documentary.

Do We Care?: I’m not sure why, but I’m thrilled by the fact that it was a Danish film crew who nailed the “war is hell” lexicon. Sure every single docu film on the subject matter gets into the confusion and madness of war, but of all the existing war-themed docs, this gets dangerously close to the field and in the same measure, questions the division’s conduct. It merits to be seen.