Land of Mine (2015)

In post-World War II Denmark, a group of young German POWs are forced to clear a beach of thousands of land mines under the watch of a Danish Sergeant who slowly learns to appreciate their plight.

Director:

Martin Zandvliet

Writer:

Martin Zandvliet

Stars:

Roland Møller, Louis Hofmann, Joel Basman

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 32 wins & 25 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Roland Møller	...	Sgt. Carl Rasmussen
Louis Hofmann	...	Sebastian Schumann
Joel Basman	...	Helmut Morbach
Mikkel Boe Følsgaard	...	Lt. Ebbe Jensen
Laura Bro	...	Karin
Zoe Zandvliet	...	Elisabeth, Karins Daughter (as Zoé Zandvliet)
Mads Riisom	...	Soldier Peter
Oskar Bökelmann	...	Ludwig Haffke
Emil Belton	...	Ernst Lessner
Oskar Belton	...	Werner Lessner
Leon Seidel	...	Wilhelm Hahn
Karl Alexander Seidel	...	Manfred
Maximilian Beck	...	August Kluger
August Carter	...	Rudolf Selke
Tim Bülow	...	Hermann Marklein

Storyline

In post-World War II Denmark, the Danish government puts their hated German prisoners of war to work clearing the 1.5 million landmines from the western beaches of the country. At one such beach, Sgt. Carl Leopold Rasmussen finds himself in charge of one such labor unit and finds they are largely all inexperienced boys. As the boys struggle to complete and survive their dangerous work, Sgt. Rasmussen's hate for Germans gradually cools as he grows to understand the horrific situation these child soldiers are in even as the mines claim more and more victims. Eventually, the boys and the Sergeant must decide what can be done in a situation that would be later be denounced by later generations as the worst war crime committed by the Danish government in its history.

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Plot Keywords:

beach | minefield | denmark | child soldier | dog | 

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Taglines:

They survived World War II. Now they have to survive the clearing.

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Genres:

Drama | History | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, some grisly images, and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

It is believed that more than 2,000 German soldiers were forced to remove mines, and nearly half of them lost their lives or limbs.

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Goofs

The boys keep having the same 'fresh' haircut throughout the movie (that covers three months). It's unlikely that they had a hairdresser around, or even a pair of scissors.

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Quotes

Lt. Ebbe Jensen: If they are old enough to go to war, they are old enough to clean up.

User Reviews

Grimm drama on the casualties of war

There's a weird double edge sword going on here. Though I can't blame the Danish for being so cruel to the Germans so soon after the war ended, it's difficult in this PC world of 2017 to see this happening.

Denmark forces German soldiers to clean up their mess (A series of beaches infected with their land mines) before they can go home. Making this task even crueler is the soldiers doing it don't look old enough to smoke a cigarette.

It was a very honest look at the aftermath of war. The Danish military were treating the German's worse than dogs, though Germany deserved it for the part they played in WWII. Land of Mine is a focus on humanity as one Danish Commanding officer must find this with a group of German boys he commands like they were slaves

Land of Mine was at times hard to look at, especially when these kids were getting blown up. A little too real on how land mines work. One minute you're there, the next minute you're gone. Sometimes you saw the explosion coming, and then they surprise you with one you didn't. It strangely added to the drama.

Land of Mine was an interesting look on what it takes to turn the other cheek and forgive the enemy.

http://cinemagardens.com

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Germany] Official site [Japan]

Country:

Denmark Germany

Language:

German Danish English

Release Date:

3 December 2015 (Denmark)

Also Known As:

Land of Mine

Filming Locations:

Vejers and Blåvand in the Danish North Sea Nature Park, Municipality of Varde, Denmark

Box Office

Budget:

DKK35,500,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$435,266

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$3,169,553

Company Credits

Production Co:

Nordisk Film, Amusement Park Films, Majgaard

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital (Dolby 5.1) DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1