Flame and Citron

Wow, I thought more about this movie after watching it than I did while watching it; not that there is anything wrong with that.  This is another "based on real events" film that takes place during Germany's occupation of Denmark in World War II.  It is not an action thriller but a drama that uses the lead characters' assassinations of Nazis and Nazi sympathizers as a backdrop for this character study.  Flame (Thure Lindhardt) is the younger of the two partners and is wide eyed and determined, but undermined overall by his youth and lack of life experience; what takes him out is following his heart and not his mind and how he eventually checks out follows what you would expect from his character.  The real character to watch is Mads Mikkelsen's character Citron.  He is a failure as a hustband, father, and provider for his family and has finally found something he is good at (for the most part) and something that can restore his honor and give him the sense that he is a man.  How he handles the sudden possibility that the orders he is following are coming from less than honorable men is painful to watch.  It is painful in a sympathetic way, not in a "God, is this movie ever going to end?" kind of way.  The wrestling match between denial and possible truth are something.

The acting is great, the direction is great, the cinematography is great as well.  The script was in Danish and subtitled but easy to follow.  This is not a kid movie but possibly a "you and the significant other movie" that will probably quell any post movie conversation you might have had.  If you do watch with kids, there is one nik-nik scene that is not crazy graphic, but if you have to explain it to a  wee one, just say that the lady is helping him roll a baguette and now she is toasting it for him.