aka FLAMMEN & CITRONEN
Movie Review by Susan Hodgetts
Starring: Thure Lindhardt, Mads Mikkelsen, Stine Stengade, Peter Mygind
Director: Ole Christian Madsen
Second World War Resistance drama FLAME & CITRON is a compassionate look at the lives and wartime deeds of real-life Danish national heroes Flame (Thure Lindhardt) and Citron (Mads Mikkelsen).
After the Nazi invasion of Copenhagen in 1944, Flame and Citron risk their lives bumping off Nazis for the cause. But things begin to get complicated when they start to doubt the orders of their immediate superior, Aksel Winther (Peter Mygind). Thrown in for good measure is courier Ketty (Stine Stengade), with whom Flame has become romantically involved. A dangerous game ensues as Flame and Citron begin to realize that the only people they can truly trust are each other in an ever disintegrating society.
The film’s style could be summed up as “smoking and shooting”, but to reduce it to that would not do it justice. A serious minded piece based on years of research and eyewitness accounts, James Bond-style spy games it isn’t. The film tackles the all important grey area of right and wrong, especially during war time when rules seem effectively suspended. And I can’t think of a film that better highlights the futility of war.
