Armadillo

While most U.S. news coverage of Afghanistan mentions “coalition” troops, media attention remains focused—for the most part—on American forces. Reminding us that other countries have military personnel in the conflict, Janus Metz's Cannes award-winning documentary takes a look at Denmark's contribution to the 10-year-old war. Metz spent six months on the front line as Danish soldiers, based at Camp Armadillo in Helmand Province, found themselves in shootouts with Taliban forces. In one remarkable sequence that ignited a firestorm debate in Denmark, the Danes use a grenade attack against their Taliban enemies and fatally shoot the badly injured fighters who survived. As if that weren't bad enough, they pose the dead Taliban combatants for the sake of comic photographs. Metz also follows the platoon in their bungled attempts at winning hearts and minds—at one point, they mistake shouts from a group of youngsters as evidence of friendship (the hostile children are actually urging the Danes to go home). Not surprisingly, the Danes become disillusioned with their mission, which was originally framed as a strictly peacekeeping effort. Almost unique in offering a non-U.S. perspective, Armadillo is recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)