Neither Heaven Nor Earth

2015

1 hr. 40 min.

Drama

Fantasy

Mystery & Thriller

War

List

92%

26 Reviews

Tomatometer

46%

100+ Ratings

Audience Score

The soldiers in a French army unit in Afghanistan begin disappearing one by one.

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Liam D

Combining real time war drama and psychological tension to make it an underrated thriller that is worth watching

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

06/23/22

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Audience Member

Without giving away spoilers, the ending wasn't satisfying at all and left more questions than answers.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/05/23

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Audience Member

This is I film about combat paranoia located in Afghanistan. You do not see the soldiers get killed but the warped fantasy of paranoid soldiers imagining a different death. One where they simply disappear to heaven. Real combat but with altered minds and fictitious illusions of the events as part of the soldiers coping mechanism. In reality it is a combat film on the Pakistan border in which for French soldiers get killed in action with the Taliban and the viewer sees it through the eyes of the soldiers who see something completely different. All The viewer sees is the mad but tranquil mind numbing interpretation of death. With watching? Not really

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

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william s

A slow burn war flick not up to par with some of the better ones the last few years.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Audience Member

Afghanistan is not a friendly place.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/19/23

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Audience Member

In short: Intriguing plot, leaving us with unanswered questions about the little an armed force can do in those circumstances. Horror movie without gore yet tense from start to finish Saw this at the Leiden film festival (LIFF www.leidenfilmfestival.nl/en/about-liff) 2015. Strong atmosphere, portraying the environment where these soldiers have to survive, full of uncertainties about the inhabitants, their habits, and their way of thinking. There is much more than merely a language barrier, and even the best interpreter is at a loss here. The best example making this point is when they interrogate a young boy, who explains several things in terms we don't really understand, but the boy certainly sees it as facts. A surprisingly consistent and logical explanation how the world works in his eyes. [possible spoiler ahead] I did not understand the final 10 minutes. Four sheep were killed, shaved and put in body bags, possibly referring to a story that was told in the beginning of the movie, when the group failed to collect all body parts of a killed soldier. A body bag was filled with some extra sand to make up the weight of a man, after which the box was sealed and sent home. We saw the captain court-martialed because of being held responsible for the death of four men, while he and we knew that these four were just missing, believed held hostage and kept in an underground cave. But, as said before, I did not understand this part of the movie and thus may have missed an important clue. [end spoiler alert] All in all, an interesting story to demonstrate how misplaced these alien forces are actually, in a strange world populated with people they don't really understand. And we have a second story line in parallel, actually a horror story without the usual gore, yet tense as we don't understand what has happened really, leaving us viewers with the same unanswered questions as the main protagonists on screen. Everyone acts believably, soldiers as well as inhabitants, and offer a strong performance throughout.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/27/23

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Clément Cogitore

Director

Jérémie Renier

Antarès Bonassieu

Kévin Azaïs

William Denis

Swann Arlaud

Jérémie Lernowski

Marc Robert

Jean-Baptiste Frering

Finnegan Oldfield

Patrick Mercier

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Robert Abele

Los Angeles Times

One of the more unusual and effective explorations of modern war and its capacity for bewilderment and piercing damage.

Aug 10, 2016

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Brian Tallerico

RogerEbert.com

A tense tale of faith and mystery.

Rated: 3/4

Aug 5, 2016

Full Review

A.O. Scott

New York Times

It's not just spooky; it's genuinely haunting.

Aug 4, 2016

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Dustin Chang

ScreenAnarchy

With Neither Heaven Nor Earth, Cogitore creates an intriguing allegory of an unwinnable war.

Jul 17, 2020

Full Review

Allen Almachar

The MacGuffin

For all the good things Cogitore and production do, I walked away wishing I liked it more.

Rated: B

Jul 13, 2020

Full Review

Brent McKnight

The Last Thing I See

An esoteric mystery that defies easy explanation or classification.

Rated: B

Jul 3, 2020

Full Review

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Synopsis

The soldiers in a French army unit in Afghanistan begin disappearing one by one.

Director: Clément Cogitore
Screenwriter: Clément Cogitore, Thomas Bidegain
Production Co: Kazak Productions, Tarantula Belgique
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Mystery & Thriller, War
Original Language: French (France)
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 18, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $12.7K
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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