A War

A War is a 2015 Danish war drama film written and directed by Tobias Lindholm, and starring Pilou Asbæk and Søren Malling. It tells the story of a Danish military company in Afghanistan that is fighting the Taliban while trying to protect the civilians, and how the commander is accused of having committed a war crime. The film was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards. Plot A Danish soldier in a squad patrolling Helmand province sets off an IED. He dies from horrific injuries while his commander, Claus, back at base camp can do little to help. After that, Claus resolves to join his men on every patrol. After treating an injured little girl, her family comes to the base because the Taliban has threatened to kill them for asking the Danes for help. Claus sends them back to their village. Meanwhile, back in Denmark, Claus' wife Maria is trying to hold everyday life together, with a husband at war and three children missing their father. The strain their father's absence takes on the family is seen as the burdens of parenting fall solely on Maria. The next day, Claus and his men return to the village to find that the Afghan family they had helped has been murdered. Then without warning, an ambush by insurgent forces ensues. Claus, in the confusion of battle, calls in an airstrike on a nearby compound, though he knows he lacks proper identification of a legitimate target, known as personnel identification (PID) of the enemy. This allows the Danish troops to retreat without loss of life. However, Claus is charged with the killing of 11 innocent civilians and sent home. The potential consequences of these accusations shake him and his family. Claus' defense lawyer asserts that he needs to claim that he had PID in order to avoid prison. Though he plans to admit his guilt, Maria angrily admonishes him for not thinking of his children's lives without a father. He decides to claim he called in an airstrike because he had PID.