Claus Pedersen is the commander of a company of Danish soldiers in Afghanistan. A highly competent commander who cares about his men, he leads from the front. During contact with the Taliban he makes a decision which saves many of his men's lives but inadvertently takes the lives of some Afghani civilians. Now he is facing criminal charges.
An interesting war drama, showing the heavy burden that military commanders carry. Quite thought-provoking as we see the decisions they have to make in battle, often split-second ones with the survival of their unit dependent on them, and the repercussions these can have.
We also see how the people who know nothing of these pressures and the reality of war then try to second-guess, to the point of criminal prosecution, these decisions.
While the film has a satisfactory conclusion, you get the feeling that it could have been arrived at in a more satisfactory manner. Simple questions like "What happened after the compound was bombed?", "Did this action save the life of the wounded soldier?" and "How many other Danish casualties were prevented by this action?" would have gone a long way.
An interesting war drama, showing the heavy burden that military commanders carry. Quite thought-provoking as we see the decisions they have to make in battle, often split-second ones with the survival of their unit dependent on them, and the repercussions these can have.
We also see how the people who know nothing of these pressures and the reality of war then try to second-guess, to the point of criminal prosecution, these decisions.
While the film has a satisfactory conclusion, you get the feeling that it could have been arrived at in a more satisfactory manner. Simple questions like "What happened after the compound was bombed?", "Did this action save the life of the wounded soldier?" and "How many other Danish casualties were prevented by this action?" would have gone a long way.