Flame & Citron (2008)

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

Director:

Ole Christian Madsen

Writers:

Lars Kristian Andersen (as Lars K. Andersen), Ole Christian Madsen

Stars:

Thure Lindhardt, Mads Mikkelsen, Stine Stengade

9 wins & 15 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Thure Lindhardt	...	Flammen
Mads Mikkelsen	...	Citronen
Stine Stengade	...	Ketty Selmer
Peter Mygind	...	Aksel Winther
Mille Lehfeldt	...	Bodil (as Mille Hoffmeyer Lehfeldt)
Christian Berkel	...	Hoffmann
Hanns Zischler	...	Gilbert
Claus Riis Østergaard	...	Bananen
Flemming Enevold	...	Spex
Lars Mikkelsen	...	Frode 'Ravnen' Jacobsen
Jesper Christensen	...	Flammens Far
Lærke Winther	...	Cap (as Lærke Winther Andersen)
Peter Plaugborg	...	Lillebjørn
Martin Hestbæk	...	Storebjørn
Thomas Voss	...	Teddy

Storyline

During Nazi occupation, red-headed Bent Faurschou-Hviid ("Flame") and Jørgen Haagen Schmith ("Citron"), assassins in the Danish resistance, take orders from Winther, who's in direct contact with Allied leaders. One shoots, the other drives. Until 1944, they kill only Danes; then Winther gives orders to kill Germans. When a target tells Bent that Winther's using them to settle private scores, doubt sets in, complicated by Bent's relationship with the mysterious Kitty Selmer, who may be a double agent. Also, someone in their circle is a traitor. Can Bent and Jørgen kill an über-target, evade capture, and survive the war? And is this heroism, naiveté, or mere hatred?

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Plot Keywords:

year 1940 | year 1944 | jew | jewish | shot multiple times | 

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Taglines:

Resist at all costs.

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Genres:

Action | Drama | History | Romance | Thriller | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

With a budget over $10 million, this is one of the most expensive movies made in Denmark.

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Goofs

When the storekeeper fills the box with groceries, an overhead shot shows him adding plenty of apples. In the next close-up shot when he adds chocolate bars, there are fewer apples, and a big white-green box that wasn't present before.

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Quotes

Gilbert: You are a Partisan. That's very interesting. A soldier without a front. Are you a good soldier? Are you prepared to pay the price?
Flammen: What price?
Gilbert: What do you think? Your life. You see, there can only be three reasons for fighting in a war. Firstly, career opportunity. It's widespread, but does not produce good soldiers. You have a fear of dying and only think of peace. Secondly, ideology. Love of the mother country. That is much more intriguing, but the dreamer breaks down. He doesn't have the ...
[...]

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Connections

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

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Soundtracks

A Glorious Dream
Written by Kai Ewans
Performed by Kai Ewans and His Swinging 16

User Reviews

Exceptional...

This film about the Danish resistance reminded me an awful lot of Jean-Pierre Melville's brilliant film "L'armée des Ombres" (Army of Shadows), as both were true stories about the resistance to Nazi occupation and were great because they were well acted and without a lot of frills. Good, crisp direction, exceptional tension and excellence throughout--that's how I'd describe both films.

The title of the film comes from nicknames given to two famous resistance fighters who specialized in assassinations--mostly of Danish collaborators but also, occasionally, Nazis. What made this all so interesting is that after a while, it really became uncertain whether the two were actually now killing the good guys instead of the bad. Who was an informer and who really deserved to die was tough for the audience to figure out--and it was also quite difficult for Flame and Citron. I liked this vague aspect of the film--as war isn't always 100% cut and dry.

Overall, I have no negative comments about the film. It was exceptionally well made but unfortunately practically none of my fellow Americans will ever see the film, as sadly, most feel that it's too much trouble reading subtitles and would rather see a remake of "Friday 13th part 178"!! As for me, it just confirmed that the Danes have made some exciting films--such as "The Celebration" and "Babette's Feast"--and the Danish-Swedish co-production "Evil".

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Denmark]

Country:

Denmark Germany Norway France Sweden Finland Czech Republic

Language:

Danish German

Release Date:

28 March 2008 (Denmark)

Also Known As:

Flame & Citron

Filming Locations:

Czech Republic

Box Office

Budget:

DKK45,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$15,254, 2 August 2009

Gross USA:

$148,089

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$10,186,084

Company Credits

Production Co:

Nimbus Film Productions, Wüste Film, Wüste Film Ost

Technical Specs

Runtime:

130 min 45 min (3 part TV-miniseries)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1