In this metaphysical thriller, a platoon of exhausted and restless French troops stationed in Afghanistan, is confronted by a series of anxiety-producing blows. French Army Captain Antarès Bonassieu (Jérémie Renier) and his squad are assigned to monitor activity in a remote mountain on the border of Pakistan. The first major blow is the growing resistance of local shepherds who resent the presence of enemy soldiers in their community. They are also appalled by Bonassieu's violent interrogation techniques.
But most unsettling is the inexplicable disappearance of some soldiers. While searching for several French men who had been on guard duty, the company meets a Taliban patrol who are looking for two of their own who have also vanished. Have the men deserted the war zones as an expression of their disbelief in the Afghan war? Is there a wild animal on the loose in the region that is devouring the men? Or, we wondered, is the disappearance of the men similar to that of the missing girls in Peter Weir's mesmerizing Australian film Picnic At Hanging Rock.
First-time director Clément Cogitore keeps us wondering as the mystery deepens. Hints of what might be going on are delivered in a supernatural story told by a village teenager. But finally, we are left with an uncanny respect for the many mysteries of life that cannot be solved or explained by reason or logic.