Flame and Citron

My wife and I both loved this movie. The story is set in Nazi occupies Denmark. Flame and Citron are partners in the resistance. There are few similarities between them. Flame is younger, comes from a wealthy family where Citron has been a poor husband and father...apparently a loser. His wife leaves him and he faces the mess that his life has been. The film succeeds with us at many levels. The cinematography was amazing. Each scene was well-composed, the lighting and colors were all stunning. There is violence but it is not spectacular violence for the sake of violence.The characters are well developed and interesting. As the story unwinds you see human behavior in an occupied country. Some cooperate with their oppressors (the Danish Nazis), some resist, as Flame and Citron did and some stay in the middle trying just to survive...moving to one side or the other depending on who the likely victor is. One of the keys to this drama is the treachery of many of the Danes. The people in the ristance never knew whom the trust. The Gestapo was accurately portrayed as they work in the community to gather information and extend their tentacles in order to control people. This is an excellent drama more out of the 1940's and 1950's vintage, not an action-adventure spectacle

These two characters who star in this movie have huge ones. You know what I mean. They get themselves into some tight spaces. All in the name of saving their homeland with a little vengeance thrown in. This is a top movie. The action is great. And the actors are riveting. I totally recommend this movie.

WWII and underground resistance movie done right. Madds Mickelson is a great actor and all others are very good as well. The things happening then are appearing andhappening again just with different window dressings. Massive injustice and deceptions. Indiscriminate murders by people in authoritarian positions and scapegoats made of the people telling the truth about the Nazis of WWII. The resistance fight bravely up against a much larger and superiorly armed force in Denmark. Well worth your time if you like honest WWII movies.

This is a picture about the resistance hit team in Central Europe during nazi occupation very violent and tragic. One of the few films I am aware of besides the movie code named anthropoid that shows the raw tragic nature of resistance work in world war 2 without the clear sense of clean cut objective and hope of a future for the main characters after the war

Flame and Citron, the most expensive Danish film ever made (to my knowledge), is a polished .WWII Madsen of a movie, a gleaming production with requisite attention to detail. As other reviews have noted, the characters are not without flaws, and dutifully employed by the actors; Flame particularly crackling, brooding, intense, with the increasingly popular Mads Mikkelsen as his supporting, conflicted, disaffected partner. Key moments in the film are punctuated with dramatic camerawork and snappy timing in the edits; time was clearly spent refining the film, not exhibiting any of the rush-job Hollywood-ism happening stateside. The conflict in Denmark is well-lit here, depicting the split in Nazi reception and the double-agency of taking sides. The history is delivered in a rich, exciting package, with characters which are complex and sympathetic. My only blip if I had to take issue with something, was some truly unbelievable plot concoctions in the later portion of the film. Don't get me wrong; the "fireworks" are impressively done here and only add to the high drama-high action one-two-punch this film's certainly got in its wheelhouse. Just don't expect realism, is all I'd add. But good fun throughout, and well-executed in all caveats!

The dialogue is in Danish, and the subtitles fly by too fast to fully comprehend. In general the movie is about Danish patriots killing Germans, without regard for the consequences, i.e., the reprisals by the Wehrmacht or Gestapo who gun down a dozen innocent civilians to avenge the murder of a German officer. Further lack of realism is provided by Stine Stengard who plays the double timing seductress/spy. The best actor in the movie is Mads Mikelsen (Citron) although the director strives to make Flame the hero of the scenario.Overall fairly entertaining, definitely not worth watching more than twice. The best part is the respect the Chief Gestapo officer offers to the remains of our unfortunate heroes.

I didn't know what to expect from this one. Because I'd seen the excellent Mads Mikkelsen in Hannibal, I was curious about his other work. The premise for this was really intriguing. Not gonna lie, I love stories that are filmed beautifully, from the principal actors to the scenery the entire thing is gorgeously presented -- which makes it all the more haunting in how desperate and devastating this noir work is. Beauty, counterpointed by tragedy. It also had the added benefit of introducing me to a slice of history that doesn't get discussed in America, such as other countries outside of England, France and Germany who were affected by the Nazi regime. I love foreign films, so subtitles don't bother me, but if you're one of those people who can't be bothered if everything isn't Americanized for you, just don't. The beauty is lost on you, this film is perfect.

Arrivato nei tempi previsti ben imballata. Film discreto

very enjoyable

Violent, realistic history, not a Pulp Fiction entertainment where violence is viewed as hilarious and absurd. War may be many things, but funny is rarely one of them.9 April 1940: Denmark has been invaded, essentially annexed by Nazi Germany. The Germans have done it partially with the help of Danish collaborators. The fledgling Danish resistance (Holger Danske in Danish) is therefore at war with two enemies, one foreign, the other domestic. The situation is dangerous and desperate. Outnumbered and outgunned, the resistance must live by its wits and internal solidarity. Yet two of the most fragile things in war are trust and truth. Without trust it’s hard to know the truth, and without truth who can you trust? All is muddled in the fog of war.The partisans mean well. They love their country and want to protect it. They despise the invaders. They also want to rid their homeland of the worst sort of cowards — traitors. But the enemy, so clear in theory, is not the same on the ground. Duplicity and treachery blur identities, perspectives, especially so with the collaborators. Germans are easier to target than Danes. Then again, killing a Nazi is dangerous for all Danish society, not just for the resistance, as Nazi retribution — swift, wide, systematic and brutal — is notorious. They are hoodlums, thugs, the only rule of law their iron fist.Flame and Citron were the code names of two key members of the Danish resistance. Flame was Bent Faurschou-Hviid (1921-44), so named for his bright red hair, a Nordic inheritance. Citron was Jørgen Haagen Schmith (1910-44). They worked largely in tandem, coordinating their attacks. One was normally the driver (usually Citron), the other the hit man. Flame was better with the trigger, less apt to hesitate. He was a killer, but not a psychopathic one. He behaved more like a maltreated man, appalled and offended by bullies, his resolve motivated by a sense of vigilante justice. But of course, patriot or not, this was dangerous territory too, the line between morality and nihilism thin, always a problem when justice relies on vengeance.Another thing that makes the killing easier for Flame: he’s single, a loner. He only has himself to live for. Citron is married, a family man. His wife and child depend on his survival. Citron’s psychology is therefore more complex. If Flame is like Billy the Kid, a raw gunslinger in the American Wild West, Citron in more like Richard Boone in “Have Gun, Will Travel”, a dapper, well-mannered gentleman in shiny shoes whose occupation happens to be bounty hunter. Different styles seeking identical results.The pretext for the German invasion was a laugher — to protect Denmark from British invasion, a Teutonic joke that no one fell for. The main Nazi purpose was to seize Norway, more important strategically to German war aims. This eventually happened. But the Nazis maintained their presence in Denmark throughout the war, principally in Copenhagen where most of the action in this story takes place.Apart from Flame and Citron, there are at least three other key persons in this drama. They are:Karl-Heinz Hoffmann — cunning, ruthless, psychopathic head of the Gestapo in Copenhagen. Also, owner of nine lives, cat-like. He survived the war, though with complications. He was condemned to death for war crimes by the High Court in Copenhagen in 1946. On appeal, the sentence was commuted to 20 years in prison. On further appeal he was released in 1950 and expelled from Denmark. They say crime doesn’t pay, but they’re not always right, are they?Ketty Selmer — the femme fatale of the piece. What was she? — Danish? Swedish? German? Was she, or was she not, a double agent? Who paid and protected her? She’s slippery, cunning, devious. Flame makes the mistake of noticing her beauty, a moth drawn to the flame, so to speak. Yes, a beautiful butterfly or moth. She’s flighty, unaccountable: a riddle, an enigma.Askel Winther— Leader and coordinator of the Danish resistance, operating out of both Stockholm and London. Another shadowy figure. Is he as upfront and authentic as he appears or wants to appear? Hard to tell. He, too, is enigmatic. Political infighting in any group is inevitable. With the stakes and stress levels this high within the resistance there was bound to be heated, aggressive discussion. Opinion will divide over the extent to which he can be trusted. His doubters see too many coincidences, too many possible tip-offs that foil resistance plans. Where is the information coming from? More and more uncertainty makes Flame’s finger itch on the trigger. He wants clarity, simplicity, and it may take more blood to achieve it. The blood of Winther as well?It’s a labyrinth. It takes us into cellar meeting rooms, cafes and bars, hotel rooms, back alleys, seedy apartments, luxurious estates, safe houses. A world of secrecy, dealing, double dealing. We’re just as confused as the partisans much of the time. But this is one of the strengths of the film, not a weakness. Why should things be clear for us if they weren’t for them? Instead, we go forth with similar trepidation. We don’t know whom to trust or what to think. Mistakes will be made. We see them happen even if we can’t know for sure how they occurred.From the dates above you will have seen that both Flame and Citron died in 1944, a war year. Flame was young, only 23. Citron, 11 years older, was still young as well. Their ends could not have been pleasant, not that death is ever pleasant.The two are heroes in Denmark today, especially Flame, symbols of the country’s resistance to terrorism. Fire had to be met with fire and Flame provided much of it, as that is the only logic terrorism understands. Strength, resolve, determination, indignation — these were Flame’s strengths. Citron’s too. They were outraged patriots. They loved their country and were ashamed of its debasement. They punished the punishers. They hit back with force. They weren’t born killers. The politics of the time made them what they were. They did what they thought was right.The large stone in a Danish forest that rests atop Flame’s grave has this inscription carved into it:“In memory of the freedom fighter ‘Flammen’ Bent Faurschou-Hiviid, born 7-1 1921, died 18-10 1944. The best must die.”Yes, the best must die. He was among the best. He said ‘no’ to the Nazi menace. He fought them as they fought, with extreme violence. Men like him inspired others to resist in quieter, non-violent ways that were equally dangerous. Most of the small Jewish population in Denmark, for instance, was saved. They found safe houses, hiding places, or were rowed to safety across the Kattegat to sanctuary in neutral Sweden. Ordinary Danes risked their own lives for the salvation of others.Heroism of this sort may have motivated the Danish government to finally speak up publicly about its wartime past. In 2003, the Prime Minister of the country (Anders Fogh Rasmussen) said:“[Denmark’s collaboration with the Nazis] was morally unjustifiable. ”Indeed. It was the first condemnation of the wartime Danish government by a Danish head of state. As such, deeply gratifying, even 60 years after the events that take place here in the film.Flame and Citron, and hundreds of others in the resistance, did not die in vain. They were on the right and good side of history. They knew what they were fighting for and helped to crush authoritarianism in their midst.This film makes them better known to a wider world. It’s significant too, I think, that some of the producers of it are German. Germany has come a long way in owning up to its awful modern history. It has learned. This shows what knowledge can do when properly applied, suggesting there is hope for all of us.The film is dark, harrowing, disturbing. But it’s a story I’m glad has been told. Hard to watch, yet necessary. Fine, intelligent cinema. The Danes are good at this.

Ce n'est pas un film grandiloquent: deux jeunes résistants ont pour mission d'exécuter les collaborateurs danois.Mais on entre vite dans la vie d'un réseau avec l'apparition d'une jolie femme dont le rôle trouble ne s'éclaircira, pour partie, qu'à la fin du film. Inoxication, contre-intox, qui trahit qui? Qui est le traître à la solde de la Gestapo?Les histoires d'amour ne faisaient pas bon ménage avec la vie d'un réseau. Ce film rappelle ce que l'on a mis des dizaines d'années à savoir à propos de la trahison de René Hardy, à savoir que c'est sa maîtresse, Lydie Bastien "la diabolique de Caluire" qui, ayant recueilli ses confidences sur l'oreiller, a vendu Jean Moulin à Barbie (Klaus, pas la poupée - je précise, car de nos jours....), comme l'a finalement mis à jour Pierre Péan, à qui l'on doit décidément beaucoup.Le film est sobre, réaliste, très bien tourné et émouvant, sans image inutilement choquantes.

Interessante, come tutti i film che raccontano storie "dimenticate" della seconda guerra mondiale. Attori bravini, ma una regia un po' troppo "fredda".Vale una visione