Flammen & Citronen (2008)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Ole Christian Madsen

Writers:

Lars Andersen (writer)
Ole Christian Madsen (writer)

Release Date:

28 March 2008 (Denmark)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | History | Thriller | War

Plot:

A drama centered on two fighters in the Holger Danske World War II resistance group. |

Plot Keywords:

Resistance | Traitor | WWII | Espionage | Occupied Nation

Awards:

9 wins & 15 nominations

Cast

Thure Lindhardt	...	Flammen
Mads Mikkelsen	...	Citronen
Stine Stengade	...	Ketty Selmer
Peter Mygind	...	Aksel Winther
Mille Lehfeldt	...	Bodil (as Mille Hoffmeyer Lehfeldt)
Christian Berkel	...	Hoffmann - Gestapo leader
Hanns Zischler	...	Gilbert - German colonel
Claus Riis Østergaard	...	Bananen
Flemming Enevold	...	Spex
Lars Mikkelsen	...	Frode Jacobsen aka Ravnen
Jesper Christensen	...	Flammens Far
Lærke Winther Andersen	...	Cap
Peter Plaugborg	...	Lillebjørn
Martin Hestbæk	...	Storebjørn
Thomas Voss	...	Teddy

Also Known As:

Flame and Citron (UK) (USA)
Flame & Citron (International: English title)
Flammen og citronen (Denmark) (alternative spelling)
Plamen a Citron (Czech Republic)
Tage des Zorns (Germany)
The Flame and the Lemon (USA) (literal English title)

Runtime:

130 min

Country:

Denmark | Czech Republic | Germany

Language:

Danish | German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Finland:K-15 | Norway:15 | Ireland:15A | Portugal:M/16 (Qualidade) | New Zealand:R16

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Company:

Nimbus Film Productions

Trivia:

Almost every time we see a cigarette being lit on-screen, it is lit by The Flame.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Citron, his wife and daughter are in the car on the beach, there are no wheel trails in the sand.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Produktionsdagbog: Prag - Berlin - København (2008) (V)

Powerful, Intense & Disorienting

Based on a true story, this twisting tale of two second world war folk heroes of the Danish resistance unfolds with noir-ish intrigue. Atmospherically photographed on a fat budget, the film looks stunning but retains a gritty period realism.

The performances are universally strong and there is a real chemistry between the two central characters; Mads Mikkelsens' quirky Citronen, a twitching, sweaty bundle of amphetamine-fuelled nervous energy and his sole ally, the flame-haired, but relatively cool-headed Flammen (Thure Lindhardt).

This is a war film - but the war we experience here has a dreamlike, claustrophobic quality. This is a world of lies, paranoia and spiralling violence which threatens to erode our heroes moral certainty and destroy their sanity.

A buddy movie with echoes of "Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid" (without the jokes); "Bonnie & Clyde" (but with swastikas). There's even a little "Naked Lunch" thrown into the mix.

The first film I've seen by director Madsen has left me intrigued, impressed and hungry for more. Recommended 8.5/10