Flame And Citron

''Flame & Citron'' () is a 2008 historical drama film co-written and directed by the Danish director Ole Christian Madsen. The film, a fictionalized account based on historical events, stars Thure Lindhardt and Mads Mikkelsen as two Danish resistance movement fighters nicknamed Flammen and Citronen, during the Nazi occupation of Denmark in World War II. Attracted by the story of the pair since he was twelve, Madsen spent eight years along with co-writer Lars K. Andersen researching historical archives to produce it.

Madsen's idea was to bring attention to the story of Flammen and Citronen as he felt it had been neglected or misrepresented. The most expensive Danish film produced to that date, it was co-produced by German companies because initially there was no interest in producing the film in Denmark. Portraying the protagonists as morally ambiguous characters, the director tried to depict war as a complicated experience that goes beyond a good versus evil dichotomy. With visual and narrative references borrowed from ''film noir'' and the French film ''Army of Shadows'', ''Flame & Citron'' also explores themes of love, betrayal, and the emotional aspects of relationships.

The film was released in Denmark on 28 March 2008 to positive reviews. The most-watched film in the country that year, it was praised mostly for the actors' performances, dramatic style, and depiction of war and its moral dilemmas. Considered an art film by some critics, the film was compared, both favorably and negatively, to ''Army of Shadows'' and other war films; it also sparked a debate over its historical accuracy. Additionally, it was nominated for both domestic and international film awards, including the Robert Awards, the Bodil Awards, and the European Film Awards.

Plot

Set after the Nazi invasion of Denmark, the film focuses on the Holger Danske resistance group's Bent Faurschou Hviid (known as Flammen) and Jørgen Haagen Schmith (known as Citronen). In a bar, Bent flirts with a woman, who identifies herself as Ketty Selmer and disturbs him by saying his real name. Bent follows and confronts her, whereupon she says she is a courier running messages between Stockholm and Copenhagen.

Aksel Winther, Bent and Jørgen's handler, asks them to kill Elisabeth Lorentzen, Horst Gilbert, and Hermann Seibold–members of the Abwehr, German military intelligence. Bent and Jørgen argue over it as they kill only Danes, to reduce the chance of Nazi retaliation. Winther claims to be acting on orders from the government in exile. Bent kills Lorentzen but fails to kill Gilbert and Seibold. Jørgen, his wife, Bodil and their daughter, Ann, celebrate Ann's birthday in their car as they lack money, and Bodil laments over their relationship. Later, Bent, Jørgen and Winther meet Spex from the Danish Army Intelligence. He says there will be no more attacks, as they need peace for a big attack. They agree not to follow Spex's order and Jørgen kills Gilbert. That night, Jørgen robs a grocery store and takes the products to his family; however, Bodil announces she is seeing another man.

After several members of the resistance are killed by the Gestapo, Winther suspects they have an informant. Later, Bent visits Ketty's hotel and they have sex. Jørgen visits his wife and advises her boyfriend to treat her properly or he will return. In a meeting, Winther says the informer is Ketty and orders her death. Bent meets Ketty; she tells him she works for Winther and for army intelligence and that Winther does not work for the British. Winther, involved with Gilbert and Seibold, had ordered their death not to be seen as a traitor. Bent and Jørgen search for Winther in a bar and discover that he has escaped to Stockholm. They realize it is a trap, and escape from the Gestapo. They decide to kill Karl Heinz Hoffmann, the Gestapo leader and then take over the Gestapo's favorite restaurant. Bent abandons his plan when he sees approaching police. That night, Ketty says to Bent that he and Jørgen should go to Stockholm. In the meeting, they are offered positions in the Danish Army but refuse. A man called Ravnen gives them the name of the real informer and Jørgen kills him.

Bent visits his father, a hotel owner, who says Hoffmann, his family and his mistresses visit there on occasion. Bent sees Ketty arrive at the hotel with Hoffman in what appears to be a tryst. Later, Bent confronts Ketty and she says army intelligence requested her to stay close to Hoffmann. Bent asks what car Hoffman uses and what his route is. Later, on the road, Bent, Jørgen and others open fire on two cars with Nazi flags but are dismayed to discover they have killed a father and wounded a child. An enraged Bent goes to Ketty's hotel room, only to discover that she has flown to Stockholm, fearing Hoffmann's retaliation. Bent and Jørgen again plan to kill Hoffmann and disguise themselves as policemen. They are arrested in a general round-up of and execution of the German-allied Danish police. Jørgen leaps a fence and is shot, allowing Bent to escape. Jørgen flees to a safe house but, when a German squad arrives, he kills some with a sub-machine gun and grenades but is killed. Bent, in his home, commits suicide with a cyanide pill when the Gestapo arrives. Later, Hoffmann gives Ketty the reward for helping apprehend Bent and a letter from him found in his room, in which he expresses his feelings and his doubt of her betrayal. The film ends with notes about Bent and Jørgen's legacy.

Cast

* Thure Lindhardt as Bent Faurschou Hviid / Flammen
* Mads Mikkelsen as Jørgen Haagen Schmith / Citronen
* Stine Stengade as Ketty Selmer
* Peter Mygind as Aksel Winther
* Mille Lehfeldt as Bodil
* Christian Berkel as Karl Heinz Hoffmann
* Hanns Zischler as Horst Gilbert
* Flemming Enevold as Spex
* Lars Mikkelsen as Frode Jacobsen / Ravnen
* Jesper Christensen as Flammen's father

Production

Development

Director Ole Christian Madsen had read the book ''They Saw It Happen'' about the anti-Nazi Resistance when he was 12. He was especially attracted by the story of the pair because of their moral ambiguity. Madsen stated, "They both fascinated and scared me, and I sensed there was something dark and untold in their story." He "wanted to make a film that would revive and reassess their reputation". Years later, he met writer Lars K. Andersen, who had also read the book during his childhood, and this led them to envision a film. The project started in 1999; the idea for the film did not attract sponsors because it was viewed as "past history" or because it portrayed the resistance "outrageously". This was precisely one of Madsen's objectives: to talk about their story because Danish wartime archives listed many fatalities simply as casualties of war instead of counting them as murders, thus "suppress ng their real story. He wanted to bring attention to a part of Danish history "the nation has since neglected to talk about", resulting in a "collective misrepresentation". By discussing it, Madsen hoped not to talk about only past but the present since he thinks that "to understand what happens in the world's focal points today goes through history" and that "The story of two illegal rebels is an eternally useful story even if it is played out in 1944".

Even in the wake of major companies' refusal to support the project, Madsen and Andersen continued to research archives in England, Germany and Sweden. In 2005, however, German films about World War II started to become popular, and several German companies became interested in the idea for the film. It became a co-production between Denmark and Germany, with three companies—Nimbus Film, Wüste Film and Babelsberg Studio—producing it. By October 2006, it had already got 75% of its then 45 million Danish kroner (or $7.6 million) budget from the Danish Film Institute, Danish TV 2, and other financiers in Norway, Sweden and Germany. Filming started March 2007 and lasted until May 2007; large parts of the film were shot at locations in Copenhagen, Denmark, and Prague, Czech Republic, and it also took place at the Babelsberg locations in Potsdam-Babelsberg, Germany. It received a €342,000 ($460,000) grant from the for its total budget of $8.6 million (6.3 million), making it the most expensive Danish film produced to that date.

Originally, Madsen planned to create a docudrama-style film but when he discovered Ketty was a Russian spy and had a love affair with Flammen he changed his mind. This finding "forced me to make the film a much more stylish, more noirish piece of work." "Even so, I tried to keep a soft touch style-wise out of respect for the film's subject," said Madsen. He tried to make it feel real by "eliminating the distance to 1944" and directing the film as if it were set in the present.

Casting

Thure Lindhardt, a frequent collaborator in Madsen's films with an ability to "slip himself into any part", according to the director, was cast as Flammen. Mads Mikkelsen was chosen to play Citronen by the director before his international career was launched because, as Madsen said, "he has this grand masculinity, and he approaches his roles like an animal". Both Lindhardt and Mikkelsen were cast early in the project, in about 2005, and Stine Stengade was cast as Ketty even earlier—in 2001. The casting process "wasn't really difficult, because I didn't feel that so many people could play these parts", Madsen stated.

Visual style

The visual style was described by the director as a mix of his own former films which varied from "film-noir in its essence, very dark and very eclectic" to "hand-held", "more visually relaxing". Guy Lodge of Incontention described it as "owing much to ''film noir'' in the intricacy of its narrative and the lush, shadow-drenched stylization of its visuals". Wally Hammond, for ''Time Out London'', said its cinematography varies "between atmospheric, noir-esque period evocation and modern widescreen stylings, with excellent use of low-key lighting, silhouettes and location". Mark Jenkins of NPR said it had a "classic look" both in visuals and in storytelling; visually, "with widescreen compositions, overhead shots and dramatic contrasts of light and dark", and in its narrative " me sequences are quick and messy, but others are grand and theatrical." Joe Morgenstern, critic for ''The Wall Street Journal'', said the "pace is deliberate, ndthe tone is pensive, albeit punctuated by occasional violence."

Madsen was influenced by Jean-Pierre Melville's ''Army of Shadows'' (1969), about the French Resistance, especially "the way it told its story through only rituals and dialogue". He watched it about half a year before filming ''Flame & Citron'', and it also inspired "the mythologizing of the characters" in ''Flame & Citron''. Manohla Dargis of ''The New York Times'' affirmed, "You can see the Melville touch in the impenetrable shadows that spill across Mr. Madsen's carefully composed mise-en-scène and in the fedoras and trench coats worn by his two heroes." Erica Abeel of ''The Hollywood Reporter'' said, "In its tough-mindedness ''Flame'' '& Citron''owes much to Jean-Pierre Melville's ''Army of Shadows''."

Themes

In the film Madsen tried to challenge the idea of war as "black and white" and the idea that the resistance was "a cohesive whole". He says of war that it "has many more nuances, it is grayer, less defined. When an enemy may stop being one at any time and a friend can become an enemy overnight, things become less clear". Ella Taylor of ''The Village Voice'' commented, "''Flame & Citron'' is less about the battle between good and evil than about losing one's way in the fog of war, which makes it hard to tell friend from foe and harder yet to sort through the rules of engagement, and complicates the heroic honor codes of movies about the 'good war.'" Marshall Fine of ''The Huffington Post'' asserted that the violence in the film is double-edged: " ttakes its toll on the perpetrator as well as the victim." Similarly, ''The Irish Times''s Derek Scally stated the film analyses "the dehumanising effect of assassinations on assassin".

Madsen tried to explore this "moral dilemma", "the drama behind the story of the 'illegals'" and human psychology in crisis situations. Madsen ultimately defined his film "as an investigation of what happens psychologically to someone who sacrifices himself in war". Because of this, he portrayed Flammen and Citronen as "modern heroes with cracks in their souls and doubts and insecurities". Citronen even reflected upon killing people but, as Madsen said, "he did it. He sold out his humanity for the highest price." Kenneth Turan of the ''Los Angeles Times'' described the story as "a psychologically complex look at what heroism does to heroes. The actions these men take tear at their lives, their families, their very essence." Morgenstern analysed it as "a meditation on the nature of heroism, and the quest for purity of purpose". Turan even said it is "more nihilistic than idealistic", while Tirdad Derakhshani of ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' asserted that it "balances the whizzing bullets and political intrigue with an elegiac tone and an existential edge just this side of nihilism". Its depiction of the resistance in a non-heroic way made it a "one-off film" in Danish cinema, according to film historian Lars-Martin Sørensen.

Another theme the film deals with is the bureaucracy in the resistance, according to Ty Burr of ''Boston Globe'', as the main pair would prefer to work as freelancers. Writing for ''The Washington Post'', Michael O'Sullivan said the film also has "a surprisingly contemporary subtext, as when Hoffmann, in an abortive showdown with Flame, calls his would-be assassin a well-intentioned, but ultimately misguided, terrorist. 'Don't you realize,' Hoffmann asks, 'you're just a tool for someone with less pure motives?'" Burr also commented that "The film repeatedly poses that question Who's being set up here?"and pointedly refuses to answer. By its silence, it suggests that in wartime everyone can be both user and used."

Kenneth Turan affirmed that ''Flame & Citron'' has several themes as it "is chock full of plot and incident, action and romance, loyalty and betrayal". Derakhshani stated it "rehearses virtually every element of the classic genre piece: violence, sex and romance, gunplay, spies, betrayals, a femme fatale, and a murderous Gestapo officer". Cynthia Fuchs of ''PopMatters'' noted that, though he has to deal mainly with "moral questions, Flame confronts an emotional complication—in the conventional form of a woman". Abeel argued that "For beneath his stony exterior, it's Flame's romantic soul that will prove his worst enemy. This masterful film is at once a portrait of wartime heroism and a poignant journey into a boy's secret heart."

Release

''Flame & Citron'' debuted in Danish theaters on 28 March 2008 and premiered on 28 August 2008 in Germany. The film was seen by over 770,000 people in Europe; it had a public of 668,000 in Denmark, making it the most watched film in the country that year. It grossed $9,210,518 in Denmark for a total of $10,186,084 from screenings in twelve other countries—Argentina, Austria, Colombia, Germany, Greece, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

''Flame & Citron'' was domestically distributed by Sandrew Metronome in Denmark; it was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on 30 September 2008. The film was distributed by Metrodome in the United Kingdom, who released it on DVD on 1 January 2009, theatrically on 6 March 2009, and on Blu-ray on 29 June 2009. In the United States, IFC Films licensed the film, and its North American debut occurred at the Telluride Film Festival on 29 August 2008. IFC released it on demand on 29 July 2009, while its theatrical release was on 31 July 2009, and its home media release was on 23 February 2010.

Critical reception

Domestic reviews

Critical response to the film was mixed but mostly positive in Denmark, including praise for Madsen's direction, the performances of Lindhardt, Mikkelsen, Stengade and Mygind; opinions were divided about the portrayal of the main characters. The film "has shocked Danish audiences" for its portrayal of the protagonists as non-heroic, and has been criticised by historians. ''Berlingske''s Ebbe Iversen commented that it can be both good and bad to have morally ambiguous characters as it can be seen as "an artistic force" to have "authentic protagonists psychology", but it can also be frustrating to have their motives portrayed as "enigmatic". The critic stated it did not make it a bad film, instead "its subtle, not uncritical portrayal of the resistance seems sober and serious, the style is worked out to the smallest detail, and in its outer form the film is the type of work that you unkindly call conventional and more kindly describe as classic."

Henrik Queitsch of ''Ekstra Bladet'' praised the action sequences for its details, even saying it is the best Danish war film ever and said it is also "a booming interesting history and a multifaceted psychological portrait – not only of Flame and Citron, but also of the many people they come across in their path". Kim Skotte of ''Politiken'' said it had more gunfire than psychology and that it lacked a more detailed explanation of the characters' backgrounds that would justify their personalities. Writing for ''Jyllands-Posten

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases