Company commander Claus M. Pedersen and his men are stationed in the Helmand province. When they are caught in heavy crossfire and in order to save his men Claus makes a decision that has grave consequences for him and his family back home.
Ethically challenging and occasionally brutal, "A War" explores the dicey nature of decisions made in the heat of battle and the grim consequences that may follow.
If A War can't, at the last, land the gutpunch of its predecessor, it scores points enough to provide a worthy watch -- and to confirm its writer-director as among the preeminent agonised consciences in contemporary world cinema.
Only in the second half, after the commander is accused of a war crime and returns home to stand trial, do these two worlds merge and their respective realities clash, with sobering results.
In human terms, A War's moral calculus might seem a bit off, but the point certainly hits home -- in the age of "precision" remote-controlled weaponry and guerrilla ambushes, war crimes have become all too easy to commit.
