Killing Time : Entre deux fronts

A young father in uniform stands with his small son in his arms and asks “do you remember me?” After their deployment in Afghanistan, the soldiers of the US Marines return to Twentynine Palms in California. And this peculiar desert town close to America’s largest military base suddenly springs back to life. Filmmaker Lydie Wisshaupt-Claudel accompanied 12 US marines during a stopover in their homeland. She follows the young men at home, to the tattoo studio, hairdressers, bar and even the local bible group. They can pass their time with anything they like, but what they can’t do is fill their inner emptiness or suppress the knowledge that the next deployment is just around the corner. In powerful images, Lydie Wisshaupt- Claudel documents the day-to day civilian lives of the returned soldiers. Her ever-observant camera allows her to keep a certain distance from her protagonists, yet, at the same time, get astoundingly close to them. Killing Time gives a unique glimpse into the life of today’s soldiers. (Zurich Film Festival)