As resistance movements go, the story of Danes in World War II is not one of the more famous. But “Flame and Citron,” the most expensive movie ever produced in Denmark, might rectify that.
Based on a couple of real-life figures from the war, this is an effective study of defiance under occupation. But, like Steven Spielberg’s “Munich,” it doesn’t shirk the complexities of such a movement.
The title refers to the code names of two underground anti-Nazi fighters. Flame, played by Thure Lindhardt (“Angels and Demons”), is known for his bright red hair and his cool commitment to killing Danish traitors; Citron (Mads Mikkelsen, the villain from “Casino Royale”) is a wheel man with a much more conflicted attitude about their jobs.
When it’s not depicting the hit squad in action, the film bounces between debates about how to resist and whose orders to follow, a structure that suggests the chaos of living in a loosely connected underground movement.
Flame meets a woman (Stine Stengade), who is mysteriously connected to his immediate superior. Her story is also threaded through the film’s 130 minutes, teasing us with how exactly she fits into the allegiances in this world.
Although the film is more than two hours long, it maintains a taut tension throughout. Of course, anybody who makes a film about rebels in occupied territory has a built-in shortcut to suspense: Every time Flame and Citron enter a bar or cafe, they run the risk of being seized by an SS soldier. No wonder people keep telling Flame to dye his hair.
Director Ole Christian Madsen’s previous film, “Prague,” was an interesting effort, but this is a much bigger-scaled (dare I say more Hollywood?) enterprise. The period trappings are handsome, but they don’t detract from the absorbing main characters.
“Flame and Citron” has become a huge hit in Denmark, understandably so. Lindhardt and Mikkelsen are both big stars in their native country (and have been getting nice roles in U.S. films of late) and they’re well suited to their parts: Lindhardt’s expert killer is not as cold-blooded as he appears and Mikkelsen’s reluctant assassin is a jittery, sweaty mess.
The whole thing plays like a good miniseries — not a classic, but a good piece of work that explores the toll taken on fighters, even if the cause is apparently good.
“Flame and Citron”
Based on fact, this tale of the underground resistance in Nazi-occupied Denmark during World War II has a built-in suspense and the appeal of a good miniseries. Two of Denmark’s best-known actors, Thure Lindhardt and Mads Mikkelsen, play the resistance assassins. In Danish, with English subtitles.
Rated: Not rated; probably R for violence
Showing: Varsity
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