gmbcorp today: PODCAST: Janus Metz

Friday, April 15, 2011

PODCAST: Janus Metz

As an intense documentary that sticks close to a platoon of soldiers in Afghanistan, Armadillo offers easy comparisons to the recent Restrepo, but filmmaker Janus Metz's shrewdly and artfully crafted examination of wartime behavior (which I wrote about briefly here) proves a grander epic with more cinematic ambitions:

The first documentary ever chosen to compete in the International Critics' Week at Cannes (where it won the Grand Prize), Janus Metz's ARMADILLO follows a platoon of Danish soldiers on a six-month tour of Afghanistan in 2009. An intimate, visually stunning account of both the horror and growing cynicism of modern warfare, the film premiered at the top of the box office in Denmark, provoking a national debate over government policy and the rules of engagement.

In the heart of Park Slope, Brooklyn (as if the kiddie squeals from the nearby romper room weren't a tipoff), Metz and I chatted over coffee about shooting beautiful images in the middle of a firefight, what scared him most during filming, and why it's crazy to want to "be all you can be."

To listen to the podcast, click here. (17:02)

Podcast Music
INTRO: Feather Da Gamba: "The Armadillo"
OUTRO: Scott Walker: "Two Ragged Soldiers"

[Armadillo opens in limited release on April 15.]