Danish movie on the resistance in WWII

[Spitfire]

Tonight is openingnight for the most expensive danish movie ever made.
A film about two of the most famous resistancefighters during the nazi occupation of Denmark.

You can watch the trailer here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfaY03KGyrU

 

[TessTrueheart]

Oh, I am so looking forward to this! It looks amazing! And Mads Mikkelsen, mmmm...

 

[Speedster]

Flammen og Citronen

Looking very much forward to seeing it.

There's a few pictures from behind the scenes here: http://cynic.dk/flammen/

A friend of mine was an extra (german soldier) on the film.

 

[Smithy]

Looks great. Hopefully it opens here before we leave.

 

[JEEP]

I saw it at the pre-premiere yesterday. It's a good movie - though not as impressive as the trailer suggests.

The message of the movie is quite controversial - I am sure it will offend quite a few people remembering WWII.


/Jakob

 

[Rufus]

Wow...looks great!

Do you know if there's plan for an english language release, for us untalented linguists?

 

[JEEP]

It will most likely come with english subtitles.


/Jakob

 

[RIOT]

Nice! I hope this film makes it to this side of the pond. Possibly for us New Yorkers, The Angelika will show it, subtitled of course.

 

[Badluck Brody]

Excellent!

I'm sure we'll have to wait for a year until it arrives here in the States... But I can't wait!

 

[Spitfire]

Went to the cinema last night. It's a true epic masterpiece.
And very controversial too.
The maincharacters are all but heroic and move around in the greyzone of right and wrong most of the time.
Just like it was - according to my father, who also was in the resistance. And actually worked with both of the maincharacters on a few occasions.

Go see it, when you get the chance. It's worth it.
:eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[JEEP]

The movie may not bee too accurate on actual historical events - but, as Spitfire writes, it manages to show the shades of gray, the strong feelings, the imminense personal costs and the huge "forgotten" backside of the danish resistance during WWII.
Even as a young person born many years after the war, I got completely carried away by the movie - I can only imagine which effect it had on some of the elderly among the audience in the cinema, quite a few of them looked rather pale and teary-eyed while walking out of the cinema - a few even looked angry.
I have never experienced a movie premiere where the audience was so quiet during the entire movie - everyone just sat quitly staring at the screen.
The ending is quite controversial - and wery diffrent from what my history book, back in school, said. My only fear is that many people will mistake the movie as a documentary and accept the ending as a new historical fact - which it isn't, though it is not the least likely of theories about what actually happend.


/Jakob

 

[Lillemor]

I'm going to have to wait 'til it's on DVD. This is the kind of movie I wanted to watch on the big screen though.

 

[Kassia]

I wonder what my inlaws, who lived thru the occupation of Denmark, would say about it? If i ever see it here in Canada i'll pick up a copy for them..
I am sure, like most movies, there is alot of embellishment..
Perhaps it is another case of the history being written by the conquerers so i remain sckeptica ...

 

[Spitfire]

It's a danish film - made by danes.
You can hardly call a occupied country which gets liberated by the British for conquerers.
No - it's a very true to the times kind of movie.

 

[carter]

Looks like the kind of film I'd see more than once. Looking forward to it's US release at some time in the future. It'll probably be at the Angelica here in Dallas.

 

[BellyTank]

I wonder what my inlaws, who lived thru the occupation of Denmark, would say about it? If i ever see it here in Canada i'll pick up a copy for them..
I am sure, like most movies, there is alot of embellishment..
Perhaps it is another case of the history being written by the conquerers so i remain sckeptica ...

WoW

Yes- who are these "conquerers"..?

Dear Sckeptica ...,
I hope the review you will make after you see the film will be better than this review,
from before you've seen it.


B
T

 

[Kassia]

WoW

Yes- who are these "conquerers"..?

Dear Sckeptica ...,
I hope the review you will make after you see the film will be better than this review,
from before you've seen it.


B
T

My in laws were born and raised in/near Aarlborg.. They where teenagers when the Germans invaded Denmak and then Norway..
My father in law tells stories and some times i think they are embellished a bit by age and time.. To this day he dislikes "germans".
You also have to remember that it was the British(Allies) that bombed Denmark for nearly 4 years so there was a bit of hmmmm dislike for the British by some Danes.. Neither of my inlaws or thier families had thier houses bombed but had many friends who did... And many friends and some family that had members killed... And mostly by the British.. Times where tough in Denmark, from what he has said.. Very hard to get anything during and many years after the war.
As i recall from the stories they have told me no Jews were ever interred in Demark due to the fact that the King wore a star of David the day it was invaded... The King was such a PITA to the Nazis that they put him under house arrest. In fact everyone did in an attempt to fool the Nazis...
And we must also remember that there are Germans and there are Nazis.. They are not always the same people!!!
Yes the Allies liberated Europe. My inlaws got married on VE day and several minutes of thier wedding movie was edited out to protect friends that were in the resistance.. The Nazis where still around and my father in law had a job rounding up the officers.. They'd be put on a bus and escorted to jail..
He was 24 years old then... They did tough it out for several years after the way but decided to come to Canada in 1953 so that thier 3 children would have a better chance in life..... My father in law has only been back once since then and that was about 20 years ago... Not may "oldies" like them left any more. They are 87 years old now and never regreted coming to Canada. Life was hard there too for awhile...
Oppsss sorry that was so long but i hope that the movie was made with good intentions not just the usual embellishing by "hollywood" types.. There is nothing remotely romantic or charming about war.. I hope that had people to advise them that had really been there.. People like my inlaws or thier families that had witness some of the horrors in person... That way and only that way do you get the proper persecptive on how things where then..
As i said before i do wonder that my in laws would say.. I didn't review the movie before i saw it as you suggest...

 

[TessTrueheart]

As i recall from the stories they have told me no Jews were ever interred in Demark due to the fact that the King wore a star of David the day it was invaded...

Actually, the germans tried to have all the jews deported in october 1943. Most of them escaped to Sweden. More here: http://www.natmus.dk/sw23428.asp

 

[BellyTank]

Kassia- I think you're preaching to the choir now- quite a few Danes here.


B
T

 

[Spitfire]

Just a few corrections here:
The british/allied did NOT bomb denmark for 4 years. (The occupation lasted 5 years to be correct. From april 9 1940 - may 5 1945)
To my knowledge RAF only bombed a very few times - primarily the Gestapo headquarters in Copenhagen and Århus. There might have been a few other targets - but they can be counted on one hand.
Among the other places were the german airfield in Aalborg in the beginning of the war. A catastophy for RAF. i believ almost all the planes were shot down. (So some families in and around Aalborg might have suffered)
The Russians bombed two cities at Bornholm at the very end of the war, because the germans there would not surrender after the liberation of the rest of Denmark.
To my knowledge no US plane ever bombed anything in Denmark.
Actually the majority of the danes liked the british - they parachuted weapons in to the resistance and they liberated us.

The king wearing the david star is a myth. He never did that.
Somebody in the german high command told somebody in the danish resistance that all the jews in Denmark were to be rounded up and deported. He did that in good time and the resistance had plenty of time to get most of them to sweden and freedom.

The film gives a very good and true impression of what it was like to be in the resistance. All the things that went on - not everything as it should be. the confussion of who gave the orders etc. Eveything is very true. I should know. My father was in the resistance and went underground in hiding several times, because the Gestapo was at his tail.
He was also involved in weapondrops, sabotage and killing of collaborateurs.