jorgenmw «Flammen og Citronen» is a fantastic portrayal of the danish resistance movement during the II. W.W. In addition to being a great historical portrait, it gives an outstanding insight into the depth of war, especially how war - under any circumstances - is 'a loosing game'. Hate, and hate towards a collectively created, one-dimensional enemy, is maybe the most important component in understanding how some of the nazi-sympathizer where able to carry out some of the most cruel deeds ever known to mankind. Nevertheless, hate blinds also the good man. War and humanity are incompatible sizes. Beautiful cinematograpy and brilliant performances. 9/10

Bene Cumb Most of the events are catchy, intense and run smoothly, but evenness does not last until the very end - ca 30 last minutes of the film there are a few odd scenes and the settlement comes abruptly and without any explanation, e.g. how the shelters were disclosed. The so-called final shooting scenes are a bit over-dramatized as well. The strongest part of the film are the two protagonists: Thure Lindhardt as Bent Faurschou-Hviid, also known as Flammen, and Mads Mikkelsen as Jørgen Haagen Schmith, also known as Citron; both the actors give really gifted performances, although I have to admit that Flammen's character was more elaborated and specified. Christian Berkel as Hoffmann, leader of the Gestapo, is well played as well, but as for other major characters, I consider Stine Stengade as Ketty Selmer and Peter Mygind as Aksel Winther rather ordinary. Nevertheless, it is a good resistance film, and being due to real events provides an additional authenticity.

robert-temple-1 This is one of those Danish films which are attracting so much attention these days, and the actor Lars Mikkelsen who played Troels in season one of THE KILLING a year earlier (2007, see my review) even appears in it. It is a harrowing and ultimately sad tale, 'based on a true story'. It depicts the attempts by the Danish Resistance (all two of them, Flammen og Citronen) to struggle against the Nazi Occupation of Denmark. In that respect, it offers a view of a familiar subject in an unfamiliar setting, and is of considerable interest. The action is exciting but the film has a downbeat quality, because the Resistance keeps getting betrayed and whacked. The character called Flame has red hair, hence his nick-name, and is too brave to bother covering it up most of the time, though once in a while he is persuaded to wear a beret in the hope that at least his flame-red head will be a bit less obvious on his Resistance missions. He goes around murdering collaborators but is under strict orders not to murder Nazis themselves. It is a pity he didn't get more collaborators, but then there are always so many of such vermin whenever a country is occupied. There is a very pleasant large café where Flame and Citron and their friends foregather, with Nazi officers often sitting very near them. Considering how well known Flame was meant to be as a 'terrorist', I can't understand why he was never arrested in the café. But then that's the movies, I guess. The film is extremely well made, with a great deal of tension and suspense. The director, Ole Madsen, is highly talented. The performances by Thure Lindhardt and Mads Mikkelsen as Flame and Citron are very good. Lindhardt has appeared in 57 titles despite his youth, and Mikkelsen in 41. We have to remember that all these Danish people who are largely unknown to us are really highly experienced pros in their field, and that Denmark has produced more than just the film director Carl Dreyer whose work we all know and love. Other people have made films there too since the silent days, and because we find it difficult to distinguish between Swedes, Norwegians, and Danes (they have no such problems distinguishing between each other, and indeed do nothing but grumble about one another the whole time and ridicule each other's accents), we have often not realized who was really a Dane. For instance, the director Henning Carlsen who filmed Knut Hamsun's HUNGER (1966) was not a Norwegian at all, but a Dane, strange as that may seem. (And Per Oscarsson the actor who played Hamsun was a Swede.) One day we may get all of our Scandinavians sorted out and differentiate between all their broad vowel sounds, pinpointing the origin of each. (Swedes seem to be the broadest, Danes the most clipped and they use '-sen' endings on names instead of '-son'.) But until that day comes, we should keep an eye on those Danes, because they seem to be up to things. And this Danish film is well worth watching.

poe426 Uncompromising filmmaking that puts to shame big budget American-made World War Two movies, FLAME AND CITRON delves into the sometimes unglamorous side of wartime intrigue by focusing on two heretofore unsung heroes. Their tactics are understandably brutal: "Hate seduces you into doing things you never thought yourself capable of." Personal relationships become suspect. "We have to move on," Citron is told just after learning of his wife's infidelity; and it's all part of the TRUE cost of waging war. The best line in the movie is one of the most telling: "I don't think there is an 'after.'" Outstanding filmmaking deserving of a look.