Neutre

Switzerland is not a country that is famous for movies. In recent years there was a tendency to fund only documentaries and highly intellectual stuff that nobody wanted to see. Exceptions were "Komiker", "Das Fähnlein der Sieben Aufrechten" or "Explosiv" - and all of them were only mildly entertaining. So now the French part of the country strikes back - with "Neutre", an independently financed low budget picture filmed on digital camera. Please don't think that this is just another of those Dogma-movies ("I shake the camera because I can!"). Yes, it sometimes is shaky, but overall, the camera work is rather classic and pretty classy as well.

What I liked most about the movie was the acting. The men in this army drama were surprisingly good and convincing. The story was also rather interesting: A soldier movie with a touch of "Deliverance". I can easily accept the twists and turns that happen - even if they'd probably never happen this way. But they suit the dramatics and are not more unlikely than in your average Hollywood film. Recommended.

Rating 7/10

Anyone who has been in the Swiss Army, and most Swiss men have, could tell you that the plot of this movie is quite plausible. It tells the story of a small platoon of Swiss soldiers during their bi-annual "repetition course" (WK). At first it seems to be a very typical "WK": Everyone is partly bored, partly stressed, partly having fun. But then, during a group competition, horrible things start to happen... But see for yourself.

This very realistic low budget production is probably the only movie you will ever see in which Swiss soldiers die and in my humble opinion one of the best Swiss movies of the last couple of years! Unfortunately totally underrated and unknown in Switzerland.

This drama by directorial newcomer Xavier Ruiz is the positive surprise on the small Swiss movie scene of 2001. It tells the story about a bunch of soldiers, who get lost during an exercise mission and unwillingly cross the Swiss-French border with fatal consequences.

If You're in the Swiss army, You have to join forces every year for two weeks (or every two years for three weeks). Every person in the army has to do this, and because in Switzerland, it is a duty to join the army (except You're physically challenged or have specific morally motivated reasons), everybody who watches this film here knows that situation. You're running around in uniform, although nobody really wants to, but You just do it to get over with. And now imagine something gets wrong. For example, like in the movie, You get lost... The film's story may be unlikely, but it's astonishingly plausible. The real strength of the film are the characters: All men involved are stereotypes every Swiss has in his own section he's in the army with.

Furthermore, Xavier Ruiz delivers enough thrills and psychological drama to compete with any decent drama in Europe and even the U.S. - which makes the whole movie experience even more pleasant.

One of the few proofs that there still are made some cool, independent movies in Switzerland. 7 out of 10.