Invasion Day

An accurate account of some of the skirmishes taking place as German forces crossed into Denmark on 9. April 1940. A sad story about a heavily outnumbered and out-gunned platoon, let down by their politicians and struggling with primitive means to delay the advance of the German army.

The movie successfully conveys the unreal feeling of these soldiers being plummeted into war for unknown reasons and with no proper chance to prepare a defense. Another story about the useless loss of young lives for no good reason. Denmark surrendered after only a few hours, being threatened by German bombers and in no position to give serious resistance. But the few who did fight did so against the worst possible odds, and deserve recognition.

The term "War movie" is almost synonymous with Second World War movies. Every nation has a story, down to the smallest individuals, and when there aren't stories, the big story gives great background for fiction. As a result we are doused with WW2 movies. There are good ones, bad ones, boring ones, outright ridiculous ones, and we've seen them all. It is next to impossible to make a really good WW2 movie anymore. Everything that can be told about this war has been told; maybe it can be told again with soldiers of different nationality, different locations, different weapons; but it's really, really difficult to say something that hasn't been told already.

This is why this little movie is marvelous. It actually tells a new story. It's not the meatgrinders of Stalingrad, Omaha Beach, not the death camps, not Dresden burning, not heroes against evil Nazis. It's about the silent, peaceful Denmark which has been overrun in a mere six hours and this was all of the war for them. But how did it happen?

Are a few dozen lives comparable to thousands or millions lost on other battlefronts? What is six hours of "war" to six years? It is easy to dismiss it as nothing, but that's what this movie about. Regardless the short time and negligible losses, it was still war, with young people killing and dying for their country and king. When their comrade fell, it was the same what a Russian, German, British or American soldier felt in a much bigger battle. It is not to be overlooked.

This movie shows us some images from Denmark's family album. Look, this happened to them in 1940. When someone shows you his family album and tells about someone who died in the war, you don't say "Oh, just one of you? Stop whining, our family lost three, so your loss is insignificant." The movie doesn't claim fame. It doesn't say Denmark's disaster was a very big one, or that it's comparable to other events of WW2. It just tells: this happened to us. This is our story. And yes, a kid selling milk actually died on the road that day.

Thank you for this movie, Denmark. We missed your story. Maybe the characters could've been a bit more lively. But again, they are soldiers - what to add to them?

This movie gives a very honest account of the situation in the morning hours of the 9th of April 1940. The Danish soldiers did their duty despite being in a hopeless situation abandoned by their generals and politicians.

It's a movie made by a Dane for the Danish audience and it captures the way Danish society and the Danish Army was at that time.

I loved it! It's a small piece of Danish history coming to life.

Just a note on some of the other reviews in here. Don't try putting Russian politics into this movie. There is no glorification of any Danish effort during the war here. And it is not looked upon as such in Denmark. Focus on good movies - not the old er new conflicts between East and West. This is not a propaganda movie in any way - maybe you seeing it that way tells more about your view on the world than on the essence of this small masterpiece of Danish filmmaking.

I have to say that I'm very impressed with this movie. I had always assumed that the Danes were German sympathizers and did not put up an effective response to the German Invasion. This is definitely not so! Our little Bicycle platoon of Brave Danish Warriors, definitely gave the Huns a run for their money.

In the movie, the Machine gunners are instructed to target the armored vehicles. I really couldn't understand why until I read this...

"The German high command tried to present the attack on Denmark as a peaceful invasion in an attempt to score propaganda points, so German losses were never released. They succeeded in this, and most of the world believed Denmark did not put up any resistance against the invasion.[37]

However, in 2005, the archives of the Danish weapons manufacturer DISA ('Danish Industrial Syndicate') were opened. DISA produced the Danish 20 mm cannon that took out (relatively) many German vehicles. The Germans were naturally very interested in this weapon and had forced the syndicate to export them to Germany. And in selling them to the German army, they got their best argument from the Germans themselves: they told the company that 203 soldiers had been killed or wounded by the guns in Jutland.[38]"

As other reviewers have said here, this movie deserves more than a 6+ rating.

As a war movie, it is fantastic in its depiction of the events in one of the shortest invasions in WW2. Good acting and generally good attention to details (equipment, uniforms, tactics, etc.), in addition to a taut, gripping narrative makes it an engaging historical drama.

The strengths of the movie lie in part on its focus on just one small unit and a couple of related engagements over a period of a few hours, instead of trying to tell a wider story that would have distracted and detracted from the experience.

If there is a weakness, it is that there was very little time for the audience to really get to care about the main characters. Perhaps just a few minutes spent on their backgrounds would have been worthwhile.

I would like to highlight the last scene at the end (NO SPOILER). For those who are familiar with the history of WW2, it brings on goosebumps knowing what is about to happen to the Jews in Europe. Fortunately, most of the Jewish population in Denmark were saved, thanks in large part to the Danish resistance and the Swedish government.

If you are looking for a bloody war movie, this is not it. But if you are looking for a brief glimpse into how men react when faced with impossible odds, then April 9th will not disappoint.