The Van Doos in Afghanistan
2011 · 44m · Canada
Directed by Claude Guilmain
Genres: documentary, war
Tones: contemplative
Francophone soldiers of the Royal 22e Régiment filmed on deployment in Afghanistan in March 2011 describe patrol work and base duties and the realities of serving there.
Picked by Margot
The scouts
It's a straight-ahead soldier doc that does exactly what the premise says—no narrative tricks, no formal provocation, just dudes talking about their day. Pass.
Guilmain's restraint is the whole film: letting Francophone voices occupy a space rarely given in English-language war documentaries, structured around the rhythm of patrol and downtime rather than dramatic arc, which is precisely what makes it essential testimony.
The sound design of base ambient—the hum of machinery, the texture of waiting—does more to convey deployment than any voiceover could, and Guilmain trusts it completely.