Krigen (2015)

	Also Known As: Krigen
	Year of first release: 2015
	Director: Tobias Lindholm
	Actors: Pilou Asbæk, Tuva Novotny, Dar Salim
	Country: DK
	Genre: War, Drama
	Conditions of visioning: 28.03.2016, Schauburg, OV Sneak Preview, English/Danish/Arabic original version
Synopsis: Company commander Claus M. Pedersen (Asbæk) and his men are stationed in an Afghan province. Meanwhile back in Denmark Claus' wife Maria (Novotny) is trying to hold everyday life together with a husband at war and three children 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 on civilians. He has to go back to Denmark and sees the further consequences for him - and his family.
Review: The movie sets in parallel the war and the home life, without taking much care about the war itself. This is not the story. I understand better the continuous dilemma of being a soldier, killing and saving lives and the similar will in peaceful home. There is no much dialogue judging or pushing the viewer to judge about this case. Lindholm manages to write a story giving the different aspects of the soldier's life, war, family life during war and after war. Even if just the fact of questioning the international law in this case is controversial, the movie just opens the discussion without judging. Lindholm wrote the story of the suspensful drama Jagten (by Thomas Vinterberg and with Mads Mikkelsen). Extremely promising also as director. Indeed he manages to take the best of actors such as Asbæk and Dar Salim. Pilou Asbæk is a great actor! He really looks like Ewan McGregor some years ago, but his talent is really personal. He manages also to make out of a walk of soldiers in the country a suspenseful scene. I am more curious on previous movies of Lindholm such as R and Hijacking. And his other collaboration with Vinterberg, The commune.
Rating: 7 /10

Pawn sacrifice (2014)

	Also Known As: Bauernopfer, Le prodige
	Year of first release: 2014
	Director: Edward Zwick
	Actors: Tobey Maguire, Liev Schreiber, Peter Sarsgaard
	Country: USA
	Genre: Drama, Thriller
	Conditions of visioning: 21.03.2016, Schauburg, OV Sneak Preview, English version
Synopsis: In 1970, Bobby Fischer (Maguire) began a new effort to become World Champion. His dramatic march toward the title made him a household name and made chess front-page news for a time. He has been supported by father Lombardy (Sarsgaard). He won the title in 1972 against Spassky (Schreiber), but forfeited it three years later.
Review: The originality of the movie is to show the solitude, the paranoia and the obscurity of Bobby Fischer's mind. The supposed Cold war on a Chess board is a question of point of view. This kind of evolution in the psychosis is a rare topic (e.g. Memento), while this is often mixed within a thriller with no view into the mind of the character. By luck there is no conflation of his fight à la Don Quichotte (against his own ghosts) and the fight of American way of life against Soviet one as it was presented in the media at that time. Maguire plays his role with a lot of professionality. The confusion, the concentration, the paranoia, the obsession for learning about chess and especially Russian chess. Good to know that he can play much more than Spiderman. Promising. The camera driving and image composition enhance the different moods of Bobby Fischer without being arty, just classical and effective. I liked the shots starting as still life and then the sudden reactions of Bobby Fischer. This was good.
Rating: 6 /10