"British documentary and ad director Oscar Hudson makes his feature debut in the Venice critics week sidebar with this high-concept anti-war satire, a through-the-looking-glass absurdist nightmare about realising that the otherness of your enemy is an illusion. There are some bold and ambitious images here, and some interesting split-screen work. Maybe there's an issue about the style and substance ratio and perhaps the running time is indulgent, but this is a strong piece of work."
"Twins Elliott and Luke Tittensor play two soldiers of equal rank in opposing armies, called Pte Warne and Pte Arthur. They represent two nations of fictional Ruritanian weirdness, formerly at war but who have evidently concluded a tensely unstable peace treaty. Warne has a resplendent white uniform and, like the rest of his country, shaves his head, while Arthur has shaggy hair and a looser uniform."
Two soldiers of equal rank from opposing fictional Ruritanian nations serve as sole border guards in a vast, featureless desert. They perform daily patriotic rituals, jointly release pigeons as a peace symbol, and maintain tense cooperation with no civilians present. Visual contrasts manifest through uniforms and grooming: one in resplendent white with a shaved head, the other with shaggy hair and a looser uniform. Surreal and absurdist imagery and split-screen techniques heighten the ritualized conflict. Shared supplies and ceremonial duties become sources of rivalry, exposing constructed identity and the illusion of enemy otherness. Bold imagery and formal play balance against a deliberately indulgent running time.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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