Based On Actual Events
Copenhagen, 1944: As the Nazi occupation of Denmark rages, two Resistance fighters a young idealist codenamed Flame (Thure Lindhardt of INTO THE WILD) and tense family man Citron (Mads Mikkelsen of CASINO ROYALE) become the underground s most proficient killers of collaborators and sympathizers. The SS is hunting them. They trust only each other. But in a time where fear and mercy must live in the shadows, will a mysterious woman and a new assignment to assassinate the head of the Gestapo lead them to the deadliest places of all? Christian Berkel (DOWNFALL) co-stars in this white-knuckle noir thriller based on the Holger Danske s most infamous agents from co-writer/director Ole Christian Madsen that critics worldwide hail as an explosive saga of justice, vengeance and the moral complexities of true heroism.
A taut, handsome production, Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Buy “Flame and Citron” For Only $12.39
April 21, 2008
#1
This Blu Ray is an import from the UK but it is region all and will play on all US players. However, the extras are in PAL format and will not play on most players.
If you wish to save some money (and get the movie before the US “release date”) you should order it from Amazon UK.
April 21, 2008
#2
My wife and I both loved this movie. The story is set in Nazi occupies Denmark. Flame and Citron are partners in the resistance. There are few similarities between them. Flame is younger, comes from a wealthy family where Citron has been a poor husband and father…apparently a loser. His wife leaves him and he faces the mess that his life has been. The film succeeds with us at many levels. The cinematography was amazing. Each scene was well-composed, the lighting and colors were all stunning. There is violence but it is not spectacular violence for the sake of violence.
The characters are well developed and interesting. As the story unwinds you see human behavior in an occupied country. Some cooperate with their oppressors (the Danish Nazis), some resist, as Flame and Citron did and some stay in the middle trying just to survive…moving to one side or the other depending on who the likely victor is. One of the keys to this drama is the treachery of many of the Danes. The people in the ristance never knew whom the trust. The Gestapo was accurately portrayed as they work in the community to gather information and extend their tentacles in order to control people. This is an excellent drama more out of the 1940′s and 1950′s vintage, not an action-adventure spectacle
April 21, 2008
#3
“Flame and Citron”
The Danish Resistance
Amos Lassen
“Citron and Flame” is based on truth–a haunting tale of two second World War heroes of the Danish resistance. It is full of intrigue, beautifully photographed and grittily realistic. This is a war film but of a different nature. The war that we experience in this movie is dreamlike and claustrophobic–a world of lies, paranoia and violence that spirals out of control and threatens to erode morality and destroy sanity.
Mads Mikkelsen is Citron, a twitchy and sweaty bundle of nervous energy; Flame is Thure Lindhardt, his cool header partner. Together they are resistance fighters and assassins in occupied Denmark. They are on order to kill but they have a personal aim, to kill the leader of the local Gestapo unit. They are thwarted in this by politics, double crossing, self-preservation and a femme fatale. This makes them have to battle with their own as well as the enemy. There are also personal relationship problems and this gives the film a human touch.
Murder takes an emotional toil as we know and the motivation for it really doesn’t matter. The film is set in Copenhagen in 1944 and the Nazi defeat is already evident. Flame seems to gain power by killing and soon grows reckless with the way he goes about it. The more he takes chances, the more Citron feels dread about the situation. At first they just kill men and eventually become capable of killing women. They even reach the point that Flame is so moved that he makes a small gesture of mercy toward a victim yet they are into murder very deeply and there is no way out. The S.S. knows who they are and has descriptions of what they look like. Flame and Citron kill a great many collaborators and the day comes when they kill a German officer and this makes the date of their death sentence come closer.
The production is beautiful; it looks like film noir and the sets, the costumes, the automobiles, guns, props etc are in keeping with the story. Ole Christian Madsen, the director, has done a brilliant job here.
April 21, 2008
#4
The 2008 Danish drama “Flame & Citron” (“Flammen & Citronen”) centers on the two real-life resistance fighters in the Nazi-occupied Denmark: Bent Faurschou-Hviid codenamed “Flame” (Thure Lindhardt), and Jørgen Haagen Schmith or “Citron” (Mads Mikkelsen). Like Paul Verhoeven’s “Black Book” (very good film from Holland), the story of “Flame & Citron” is told against the background of the occupied European countries during WWII and their people, but the Danish film directed by Ole Christian Madsen relies less on plot twists, though some part of his film looks more like a film noir.
“Flame & Citron” begins with the muffled voiceovers of Flame, obviously angry, and the real-life footage of German soldiers. The film doesn’t spend much time introducing historical facts or the back stories of Flame and Citron. Instead, we are introduced to the ways in which the two fighters carry out their assignments (namely assassinations) directly given by their superior Aksel Winther (Peter Mygind). Both believe in their cause until a series of events happens, which will make them suspect that they actually didn’t understand the whole situation about their activities, political or otherwise.
Reportedly the most expensive film made in Denmark, “Flame & Citron” offers several action scenes involving gun shooting and explosions, and they are all competently done, but the 130 minute film’s true focus is the two main characters Flame and Citron and the tormented psyches as the fighters who start to doubt their activities. Thanks to the superb acting from the cast, and the beautiful, grey-hued photography, “Flame & Citron” remains gripping throughout, though it must be admitted that some plot devices (fictional, I believe) look clichéd, such as the protagonist’s estranged wife and Ketty (Stine Stengade) a femme fatale-like figure playing a key role in the second half.
Flawed and overlong, “Flame & Citron” is still an absorbing and intense war drama and action.
April 21, 2008
#5
When I heard about this Danish movie, I was intrigued by its premise of resistance activities against the Nazis in WW II Denmark (a country that is also famous for its rescue of most of its Jewish population from the Nazis). Based on true events, “Flame and Citron” tells the story of two men, Flame (Thure Lindhardt) and Citron (Mads Mikkelsen who also impressed me in After the Wedding)who are part of the Copenhagen Resistance Movement against the Nazis. Their primary mission is to kill Danish collaborators and Nazis, be it man or woman, young or old. Their lives are fraught with risks and danger, and this makes it difficult for them to forge any long-lasting relationships. Flame is drawn to a mysterious woman Ketty (Stine Stengade) who claims to also work for the Resistance as a courier and who seems to know quite a bit about Flame. Citron faces domestic problems as he is unable to commit time nor be there when his family needs him. The film explores the moral ambiguities in Flame and Citron’s work – yes, the Nazis are bad and the collaborators should be punished, but is murder justified, especially when one isn’t absolutely certain of guilt (in the case of collaborators).
The bloody nature of their work takes its toll on both men and Flame has moments when he wonders about the morality of what he does – refusing to kill women, and balking from shooting a target who claims not to be a collaborator. It becomes quite apparent that things are not quite as they seem. The story is fast-paced, and there’s plenty of action, but at times it does seem that this focus on action and complicated story arcs (double agents, competition between the different factions within the Resistance, etc) detracts from the actual development of the characters. The two leads are credibly portrayed by Thure Lindhardt (Flame) and Mads Mikkelsen (Citron). The cinematography captures the quiet beauty of the Danish landscape, which makes for a startling contrast to the violence portrayed throughout the movie. I’d recommend this to those who like WW II dramas, especially accounts of resistance movements. Also recommended is Army of Shadows – Criterion Collection, a 1969 movie which offers a grim portrayal of the French Resistance.