Diary of Someone Waiting

Amidst the torrent of documentaries that focus on the war in Iraq, this ironic glance into the lives of guards on the Austrian-Hungarian border reminds us of a play by Samuel Beckett. In the dead of winter, director Judith Zdesar visited a number of guard posts where young Austrian recruits kill time with fake drills and nonsense. There are no illegal aliens trying to cross the border. There is no state of emergency. The only thing to worry about is the cold and their immense, constant boredom. Zdesar also gives the camera to the boys. She intersperses their brief sketches and cinematic explorations, partly shot with an infrared camera, with sharp observations of their relationships with each other and the ludicrous visit from their superior, who tries to make good by bringing them a bag of candy. What does this military service do for these men, and what do they want to become afterwards? Diary of Someone Waiting raises these questions in peacetime. Even in times of peace, these questions are of importance. Whether the recruits realise this themselves, remains the question. (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)