Crazy

There may not be a word for the kind of emotion evoked by Heddy Honigmann's latest film. But "crazy" is the word used most frequently by the Dutch UN soldiers who tell their stories of emotional devastation during peacekeeping missions in "security zones" such as Cambodia, Lebanon, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Korea. They speak of being witness to brutally chaotic conditions, of murder and child prostitution, of feelings of powerlessness amidst incredible suffering. Watching this very personal and direct film, there is the sense that these stories are being told for the first time. A curious but careful interviewer, Honigmann provides an emotional link the soldiers often deny or struggle to conceal. Each soldier recalls a song that helped get him through his or her plight, from Puccini to Patsy Cline. The mysterious power of these segments is a complex marriage of music and memory. (Toronto Film Festival)

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