War is never limited to the site on which it is being fought. War is everywhere that the people who are touched by it are found. In Germany, we have a strange word for this – Heimatfront.

Since the fall of 2001 at the latest, there has been a new Heimatfront in Germany – thousands of people in positions of relative safety who fight the consequences of a seemingly far-off war. Deutschland is a good country illuminates the Heimatfront of the German troops in Afghanistan. The film focuses on the families of soldiers and Afghan refugees. Deutschland is a good country portrays their struggle against the war and its consequences in Germany over many months.

Zahoor is an Afghan farmer boy. His parents were murdered by the Taliban. He fled alone to Europe, and became stranded in Germany. He hopes to begin a new life here. Naemi is a devout Christian. Her husband is away at war. She must live with her role as a soldier's wife, and with the fact that her husband may be forced to kill. Susann is a mother. Her young son risks his life on a daily basis serving on the rapid reaction force. He went to Afghanistan to become a man. For his mother, his service is day-to-day horror. Sonja is a modern Afghan woman. She fled the war, coming to Germany to offer her children a better life. Now, she is fighting against government offices and memory.

Zahoor, Naemi, Susann, and Sonja are suffering from a war far away. But they are not victims. Like the film, their lives are full of energy passion, and hope – in spite of the war.

Deutschland is a good country is a film about a war that has long been in our midst, and one that will not end in 2014.