With the advent of drones and other modern war technology, face-to-face encounters with the enemy are being greatly reduced. In these minimalist films about more primitive places and times, not only are the encounters close-up, they are intimately prolonged due to the circumstances. The result is the necessity to entertain humanity.
Tangerines (2013) is directed by Zaza Urushadze. An Estonian farmer in Georgia nurses two wounded prisoners from opposing sides in his home during the Georgian and Abkhazian conflict. The landscape is stark, and yet it’s hauntingly beautiful. Tangerines will stay with you.
No Man’s Land (2001) is directed by Danis Tanovic. During the Bosnian/Serbian War, two enemy soldiers find themselves in the same deserted bunker, sharing in a mutual problem. Their bitterness and distrust for each other resonates. The story is simply astonishing.