It was screened in the international critics week section at. To be fair the movie has tremendous atmosphere, and the acting is very believable both from the french troops cast, and the taliban. In neither heaven nor earth, this corruption is partly justified by the brutal uncertainty of not knowing the hour of ones death, but always sensing that its near. Lean and muscular, with a thoughtful countenance under his blond brush cut, he is a seasoned soldier and a natural commander.
In this suspenseful war film that uses fear of the dark to great effect, a french army contingent operating in afghanistan is beset by mysterious disappearances. Neither heaven nor earth is a case of the inexplicable rendered without forced mysticism or explanation, but rather explored with a clinical dramatic focus. The ingenious conceit of neither heaven nor earth, a critical success at cannes, is to transform the afghan battlefielddust and boredom and jolts of explosive violenceinto the backdrop for a metaphysical thriller. But the real twist, and perhaps the ultimate fall, comes when bonassieu learns that the taliban has been suspecting him of doing the same.
Haunting neither heaven nor earth not to be missed. Its the perfect response to our current mystery boxera of storytelling. The film fidgets menacingly within the no mans land between genresquieter and more esoteric than a standard wartime thriller, too elusive to be a proper horror or sciencefiction feature, and yet far too grounded for the label surreal. Aug 03, 2016 clement cogitores debut feature, neither heaven nor earth, takes this sentiment to its isolated conclusion through vaguely supernatural means. Aug 05, 2016 neither heaven nor earth, a new film from french director clement cogitore, often feels like a modern day update of weird war tales. Neither heaven nor earth is an effective, minimalistic metaphysical thriller set in a battlefield of afghanistan from a french visual artistfilmmaker, clement cogitore, in his feature film debut. Antares bonassieu, the hero of clement cogitores debut feature, neither heaven nor earth, seems like a guy weve met before, at least in other war movies. Neither heaven nor earth is set in the wakhan district, in eastern. While on a mission in afghanistan, french captain antares bonassieus men start vanishing one by one without explanation. Clement cogitores strong neither heaven nor earth reminds one of lavventura and about elly in how those films use disappearance as a thematic tool more than an unsolved mystery demanding resolution. Directorial debut neither heaven nor earth is a stentorian statement of intent that clement cogitore is a cinematic upstart worthy of attention. Haunting neither heaven nor earth not to be missed stark. It is otherworldly in narrative and visual approach. Its set in afghanistan where a squad of men led by.
Captain bonassieu and his french troops are in afghanistan as part of a nato mission to provide. Born today most popular celebs most popular celebs celebrity news. French army captain antares bonassieu and his squad are assigned to monitor a remote valley of wakhan, afghanistan on the border of pakistan. Negotiating control of the region between local shepherds and. France, 2015, 1h 40min, dcp, in french with english subtitles. A slow and silent nightmare plays out in allahs land, circa afghanistan 2014. Writerdirector clement cogitoire, for whom this is the first feature, has crafted a tale of. Neither heaven nor earth a genredefying debut, neither heaven nor earht is a gripping mashup of lone survivor, the thing, and the blair witch project the hollywood reporter. Cogitores movie is at once otherworldly and firmly tethered to stark reality. Neither heaven nor earth mines the middle ground of. Neither heaven nor earth, the feature debut of french filmmaker. With jeremie renier, swann arlaud, marc robert, kevin azais.
Neither heaven nor earth engages the horrors of war. Leguin wrote that war is the opposite of civilization you have one or the other, not both. Winners best picture winners golden globes emmys san diego comiccon new york comiccon sundance film festival toronto intl film festival awards central festival central all events. Theres a conscience to this film, and if it takes a spooky metaphor to express it, then neither heaven nor earth has landed on a subtly memorable one. Neither heaven nor earth letterboxd social film discovery. Neither heaven nor earth is a good feature without being a great one, a nice idea more than it was wonderfully done. It is a firstrate psychological thriller, and i recommend it highly.
It was screened in the international critics week section at the 2015 cannes film festival. Set among soldiers stationed in afghanistan, near the pakistani border, this virtually actionfree war movie which premiered at cannes last year with the englishlanguage title the wakhan front will frustrate anyone seeking. Neither heaven nor earth is set in the wakhan district, in eastern afghanistan near the pakistan border the film was shot in morocco. Mar 11, 2016 in neither heaven nor earth, this corruption is partly justified by the brutal uncertainty of not knowing the hour of ones death, but always sensing that its near. Aug 10, 2016 neither heaven nor earth is a case of the inexplicable rendered without forced mysticism or explanation, but rather explored with a clinical dramatic focus that somehow boosts the eeriness. Unsolvedmystery fans will be happily befuddled by neither. Neither heaven nor earth, the feature debut of french filmmaker clement cogitore, falls into the latter category. The year is 2014, when the troops in the natoled security.
Neither heaven nor earth is a war movie that eschews body count for a more inward crumbling of belief, like a mournful dispatch from the unruly. Neither heaven nor earth may be responsible, or they both may be, or one or the other. Jeremie renier, swann arlaud, marc robert neither heaven nor earth official trailer 1 2016 jeremie renier movie while on a. Originally titled the wakhan front, neither heaven nor earth premiered at the 2015 cannes film festival in the international critics week. Sep 08, 2016 neither heaven nor earth is a war movie that eschews body count for a more inward crumbling of belief, like a mournful dispatch from the unruly realm between faith and certainty. Set in a lonely outpost during the afghanistan war, this french production refuses to bend to genre rules. It begins as a war film set in afghanistan, and for fiftyfive minutes this is not a bad film at all, quite. Its in this unique setting, a place that inherently feels like purgatory for those stuck there, that cogitore crafts a tense tale of faith and mystery. A french army captains sanity, and the loyalty of his squad, is tested while on a mysterious surveillance mission in a remote valley. Cogitore defines his setting well, focusing on the wind, sun and sand of afghanistan 2014 as a french group of soldiers keep the fragile peace and plan for departure. Not necessarily a horror film, nor a true science fiction picture, neither heaven nor earth exists in a strange world that defies genre, which is perfectly fitting for the strange occurrences of the film. Theres a conscience to this film, and if it takes a spooky metaphor to express it, then neither heaven nor earth has landed on a subtly memorable. A genredefying debut, neither heaven nor earht is a gripping mashup of lone survivor, the thing, and the blair witch project the hollywood reporter.
Neither heaven nor earth mines the middle ground of soldiers. Neither heaven nor earth is a case of the inexplicable rendered without forced mysticism or explanation, but rather explored with a clinical dramatic focus that somehow boosts the eeriness. New french cinema week 2019 neither heaven nor earth. Most of the directorial flaws and arguably wasted opportunity of the final act of neither heaven nor earth are offset by the unshowy, grounded way in which renier grounds the film. Neither heaven nor earth effectively maintains an eerie, unsettling mood throughout, creating an interesting and compelling juxtaposition to the grounded reality of the doldrum of wartime peacekeeping depicted here. Oscars best picture winners best picture winners golden globes emmys san diego comiccon new york comiccon sundance film festival toronto intl film festival awards central festival central all events. Soldiers mysteriously vanish in neither heaven nor earth. Jul 05, 2016 originally titled the wakhan front, neither heaven nor earth premiered at the 2015 cannes film festival in the international critics week section.
The film is a highdegreeofdifficulty work, both a war movie and a contemplative drama, both scifiadjacent and grounded firmly in reality. Neither heaven nor earth drama, thriller a genredefying debut, neither heaven nor earht is a gripping mashup of lone survivor, the thing, and the blair witch project the hollywood reporter. Neither heaven nor earth effectively maintains an eerie, unsettling mood throughout, creating an interesting and compelling juxtaposition to the grounded reality of the doldrum of. It tells about french soldiers stationed in the wakhan valley, an arid, remote mountain somewhere in afghanistan, headed by capt.
While captain antares jeremie renier initially and understandably blames local villagers for the loss of his men, the real cause could be something supernatural, a force that implies the profound wrongness of these men being on. Aug 05, 2016 with neither heaven nor earth, filmmaker clement cogitore makes his feature directorial debut, and given the control with which his film balances its thematic material and a fittingly somber. Or, perhaps, its a story about the purity of faith and the need for an adulterated belief in a higher power, as in andrei tarkovskys final film, the sacrifice. Unsolvedmystery fans will be happily befuddled by neither heaven. The ingenious conceit of neither heaven nor earth, a critical success at cannes previously titled the wakhan front, is to transform the afghan battlefielddust and boredom and jolts of explosive violenceinto the backdrop for a. Neither heaven nor earth 2015 is a frenchbelgian film focusing on nato troops in afghanistan, with more than a nod to the ancient history of this part of the world, and to the vagaries of war. Antares bonassieu, the hero of clement cogitore s debut feature, neither heaven nor earth, seems like a guy weve met before, at least in other war movies. War is an uncanny inbetween in cogitores neither heaven.
War is an uncanny inbetween in cogitores neither heaven nor. On the most fundamental level, neither heaven nor earth is an impressive stunt, a horror movie masquerading as a film about the horrors of. The remains official trailer 1 2016 nikki hahn movie duration. Neither heaven nor earth is a war movie that eschews body count for a more inward crumbling of belief, like a mournful dispatch from the unruly realm between faith and certainty. Cogitore defines his setting well, focusing on the wind, sun and sand of afghanistan 2014 as a french group of soldiers.
Neither heaven nor earth ending explained the earth. Jeremie renier stars as a french army commander who begins to lose the loyalty of his company, as well as his sanity, when. Neither heaven nor earth official trailer 1 2016 jeremie renier. For many, their biggest fear is the unknown, and cogitore plays into that idea. Neither heaven nor earth doesnt reach the heights of picnic at hanging rock, but it does carry over the unnerving feeling of forces at play beyond our understanding. The ingenious conceit of neither heaven nor earth, a critical success at cannes previously titled the wakhan front, is to transform the afghan battlefielddust and boredom and jolts of explosive violenceinto the. It begins as a war film set in afghanistan, and for fiftyfive minutes this is not a bad film at all, quite tense and interesting and the. A regular collaborator of the dardennes brothers lenfant, the kid with a bike, renier has the natural charisma of a born leader thats fascinating to see undermined by the unique situations he finds himself in. Neither heaven nor earth acquired by film movement.