83
Lindholm excels at a sort of controlled naturalism – malleable enough to let the scene develop autonomously, and so precise and inquisitive that there’s not even a hint of padding in sight.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
100
Village Voice by Alan Scherstuhl
Perhaps the best film yet set against the mess of the ongoing Middle Eastern wars, Tobias Lindholm's latest is a scrupulous, unglamorized examination of battlefield decision-making — and its potentially devastating impacts, both there and back home.
80
In its own restrained way, this drama packs an emotional punch.
80
The Hollywood Reporter by Boyd van Hoeij
Lindholm here makes yet another modestly scaled but effective drama that asks more uncomfortable questions than it answers.
50
Slant Magazine by Clayton Dillard
Tobias Lindholm stages his claims through clunky dramaturgical scenarios, with the seams exposed at every turn.
100
Asbæk is towering as Claus, never less than believable as the leader of his platoon, and standout as he comes to terms with the cracks in his own story.
100
A War doesn’t seek to break new ground in the ongoing cinematic investigation of the Afghanistan conflict; rather, it scrutinizes the ground on which it stands with consummate sensitivity and detail.
91
The real war of A War is waged within Claus, with Lindholm's camera trained mercilessly on Asbæk as he delivers yet another faultlessly committed performance, within a large ensemble in which every performer feels note-perfect.
80
It’s a riveting, complex film that asks one simple question: what do you do when there’s no right answer?
80
A War does something brave and challenging in making its most sympathetic character responsible for the worst thing that happens in it.