Flame & Citron - Os Resistentes

It's almost impossible to get involved in a movie while flying over the North Pole in an Airbus. The personal screen is small, the ambient noise of the jet engines great, and the viewer's disorientation complete. Flame & Citron, a Danish subtitled movie, had no difficulty grabbing me anyway. It begins with one of the heroes vomiting in the street as a result of watching victorious Nazi troops rolling into the capital city of his small European nation. Almost immediately, we are swept up into the heroes' terror as they perform grotesque cold-blooded murders in the name of national insurgency. Brilliant performances by Thure Lindhardt and Mads Mikkelsen involve us in the personal crises of honest citizens who are forced by war into the roles of brutal hit-men. As the action proceeds, their predicament becomes only worse as they doubt the validity of their orders, and ultimately, the integrity of the order-givers. The 'third reel' of the film is an ongoing crisis, and the outcome is not pretty. The only survivors are the sociopaths who sold out in their various charming ways. The story depicts the multi-layered nature of an occupied society, and the different commitments of its members --- to their country, to their offshore bank balances, and to their own skins. Even Flame & Citron, selfless insurgent heroes, are compromised, no one comes out of the Third Reich smelling of roses. Congratulations to writer Lars Andersen and to writer/director Ole Christian Madsen on producing a grown-up war movie that has nothing to do with the Pentagon or its suck-hole clients in Hollywood.

Im usually not a huge fan of Danish movies but this one, however, takes it beyond that regular crap with cheesy endings and bad obvious acting. This movie has soul. The little things really have their part in this one and by paying attention to the details you get something you've never seen before.

First of all, the acting. Thure Lindhardt and Mads Mikkelsen manages to make their parts more natural than I've seen in years. And for once they're not talking with a rhythmic, obvious-acting kind of tone but a real and honest voice. And after watching this one I truly understand why they call Thure The Man With The Thousand Faces.

As for the directing, it is award-winning stuff. Ill be surprised if it doesn't win several prizes and important ones too.

So if you read this, which I assume you do, go watch Flammen og Citronen. I can promise you intensity, honesty, love, bravery, hate, jokes and friendship all-in-one. This movies doesn't have those cheesy, dumb, ridiculous scenes but gives you something honest and pure.

I would recommend this for movie of the year so far, if I have the power to do so. I love this movie and I admire it even more. 9/10

Another good movie, occasionally but steadily coming from Denmark, Flammen & Citronen (Flame and Citron, 2008), not necessarily belonging to the genre, but still shot in a good old film-noir style ("black-and-white" detective or other crime stories, a film genre with its hey-days back in 1940's and 1950's, nevertheless kept alive over the years, having its newer "offsprings" often related to as neo-noir, with the latest solid follower of the style, Shanghai (2010), American product directed by another filmmaker from Danish Scandinavian neighbourhood, Mikael Håfström from Sweden), based on the historically true story (with all the necessary fictional cinematic alternations) about the title hit-man and his driver, two among, apparently, very few but still existent resistance fighters in Nazi occupied Denmark, targeting at first only Danish collaborators, subsequently ordered to liquidate Germans, and, eventually, hit-man's girlfriend, getting themselves (and spectators along) ultimately confused in who their friends and foes are...

I am very impressed, and pleasantly surprised. I do not know any of the other work of the director, but I will have to consider anything else I see his name attached to. My opinion of what we Danes manage to put together in the medium of film is hardly a secret... I tend to find myself underwhelmed. Before tonight, I only really considered two such recent features truly great(the more notable of those, in my view, being Murk), and, well... as cliché as it is, that number is now three. The plot is magnificent, and the twists so marvelous and unexpected. There is maybe one thread that I found unsatisfying, perhaps especially because of how much attention was paid to it, but that's it. The acting is excellent... the one bad performance was had by a kid, and it didn't need to be better than it was. Lindhardt and Mikkelsen haven't a single weak moment between them, and Mygind... thumbs up. The cinematography is spectacular, though I did find the, all in all relatively few, zooms a bit distracting, save for one or two(these may be a Scandinavian thing, something similar appeared in Show Me Love). The editing is effective... the action(do note that this is not a straight-on piece within that genre) works, the drama likewise, and the only real criticism I can come with in this area is that there are a handful of places where things could be clearer. The writing there is infinitely little to complain about, and a long line of positives about, including the psychology, the complexity, the characters(the consistency of which is almost entirely flawless, and the only real problem within that is really how at least one major character disappears from the movie) and the incredibly accurate depiction of the time, the environment, the types of people. This is remarkably engaging. There is a little sexuality, and some language, as well as a measure of violence, but I wouldn't call any of it gratuitous. You do need a basic knowledge about the period, the place and the people, before watching this, but hey, nowhere near as much is required as for Der Untergang/Downfall. I don't know if this is entirely historically accurate, but little, heck, hardly any, is Hollywoodized, and it's undeniably entertaining and strong. I recommend this to any fan of drama, and anyone who wants a visual representation of the situation this revolves around. 8/10

FLAMMEN & CITRONEN (FLAME AND CITRON) is a dark long film that will prove to enlighten many about another aspect of WW II we know very little. Written (with Lars Andersen) and directed by Ole Christian Madsen it unfolds a true story about two 'heroes' of the Holger Danske resistance moment, a large group of Danish citizens who fought to kill not only the Nazi invaders but also the Danish supporters of Hitler's movement: the heroes are Flame (Thure Lindhardt) and Citron (Mads Mikkelsen) and the course of their lives is traced with brilliant use of sound, cinematography, a pervading darkness which serves the story well, and attention to minute details that makes the viewer almost involuntarily involved with their mission, their plight and the final results of their work.

In addition to the outstanding performances of Lindhardt and Mikkelsen, there are excellent performances by Christian Berkel as Hoffman, leader of the Gestapo, Stine Stengade as the puzzling spy/counterspy/ love interest Ketty Selmer, and a cast of bit players that remain in mind's eye long after the film is over. Though produced as an epic (and the film is a very very long 130 minutes!) the interaction between the lead characters is clearly defined and they come across as credible resistance fighters whose plight is always one of duress and fear.

As in all stories about war that are honest, there is no clear line between right and wrong, between survival and heroism, and it is to Madsen's credit that he keeps us in the shadows with every encounter. War is war and it alters everyone who is touched by it.

Grady Harp