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:

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

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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

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:

DKK 45,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$15,254, 2 August 2009, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$145,109, 27 September 2009

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$10,186,084, 31 December 2008

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

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

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Goofs

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

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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

Cheek to Cheek
Written by Irving Berlin
Performed by Svend Asmussen

User Reviews

Masterful

I am very impressed, and pleasantly surprised. I do not know any of the other work of the director, but I will have to consider anything else I see his name attached to. My opinion of what we Danes manage to put together in the medium of film is hardly a secret... I tend to find myself underwhelmed. Before tonight, I only really considered two such recent features truly great(the more notable of those, in my view, being Murk), and, well... as cliché as it is, that number is now three. The plot is magnificent, and the twists so marvelous and unexpected. There is maybe one thread that I found unsatisfying, perhaps especially because of how much attention was paid to it, but that's it. The acting is excellent... the one bad performance was had by a kid, and it didn't need to be better than it was. Lindhardt and Mikkelsen haven't a single weak moment between them, and Mygind... thumbs up. The cinematography is spectacular, though I did find the, all in all relatively few, zooms a bit distracting, save for one or two(these may be a Scandinavian thing, something similar appeared in Show Me Love). The editing is effective... the action(do note that this is not a straight-on piece within that genre) works, the drama likewise, and the only real criticism I can come with in this area is that there are a handful of places where things could be clearer. The writing there is infinitely little to complain about, and a long line of positives about, including the psychology, the complexity, the characters(the consistency of which is almost entirely flawless, and the only real problem within that is really how at least one major character disappears from the movie) and the incredibly accurate depiction of the time, the environment, the types of people. This is remarkably engaging. There is a little sexuality, and some language, as well as a measure of violence, but I wouldn't call any of it gratuitous. You do need a basic knowledge about the period, the place and the people, before watching this, but hey, nowhere near as much is required as for Der Untergang/Downfall. I don't know if this is entirely historically accurate, but little, heck, hardly any, is Hollywoodized, and it's undeniably entertaining and strong. I recommend this to any fan of drama, and anyone who wants a visual representation of the situation this revolves around. 8/10