«Flammen og Citronen» is a fantastic portrayal of the danish resistance movement during the II. W.W. In addition to being a great historical portrait, it gives an outstanding insight into the depth of war, especially how war - under any circumstances - is 'a loosing game'. Hate, and hate towards a collectively created, one-dimensional enemy, is maybe the most important component in understanding how some of the nazi-sympathizer where able to carry out some of the most cruel deeds ever known to mankind. Nevertheless, hate blinds also the good man. War and humanity are incompatible sizes. Beautiful cinematograpy and brilliant performances. 9/10

Flame & Citron is a Danish drama detailing the true story of the Danish resistance during World War II. Its themes really deal with how war cannot only destroy lives but that also it can create monsters from seemingly well meaning people and that has a direct affect on one's views and on their family too. Flame & Citron is all about real life resistance members Flame and Citron or better known as Bent (Flame) and Jørgen (Citron) who together carried out assassinations on Nazi's in Denmark and through doing so created quite a notorious reputation and also a hefty bounty on their heads. The film weaves nicely through the story and never lets go or slows down so much you get bored, it is however pretty long and parts can feel a little dull but altogether the movie is a good one.Mads Mikkelsen stands out from the cast to a wider audience outside Denmark and the well known "sweaty" actor plays Jørgen, a man torn between doing what he see's is right but also trying to feed his wife and daughter of which he is becoming increasingly distant from. We then have Thure Lindhart as Bent who is just as committed to the cause as Jørgen, although the man is definitely more ruthless and can kill much easier. Both actors do a fine job but for me it is Lindhart who stands out, he seems confident in his role and really takes it upon himself well mixing that ruthless side with a more emotional side too.Ole Christian Madsen is the director on this film and he does a pretty neat job, he manages to make this powerful but not so much that you feel this is just begging for awards, Madsen makes this feel gritty but also thrilling when it wants to be. The script can be a little shaky in parts where really the acting can suffer, I didn't care too much for any of the off shoots this story develops where the resistance storyline is put on hold for a little while. One unnecessary off shoot is really the whole plot surrounding Bent and Ketty Selmer (Stine Stengade), a lady whose mysterious arrival in a bar frequented by Bent and associates is seen as suspicious from Bent's point of view.The movie is maybe not for all I mean this is not exactly a movie that is going to give you roses, it stays dark throughout but that is really what makes this stand out more. The pace of the movie is nicely done too mixing fast scenes where maybe a killing is done with scenes of true dramatic dialogue that is important to understanding the plot. A scene which for me really stands out is one with Bent and a German officer he pays a visit to, the scene is full of smart dialogue between the two and some things said are very nicely written and this scene is one that makes up just a little for the script I talked about a little before.So overall Flame & Citron is a movie I would recommend, for those who maybe want a lot of action then maybe give this a miss but it can't be said this lacks in exciting and thrilling scenes. This is a big film for Danish cinema, a film industry very much not looked at much from a worldwide point of view, but Flame & Citron manages to make not only a movie that is a good little piece of work and shows off Danish cinema, but it also shows us the history of the country in WW2, and what problems they had that drove them to resist.

It's not often that I laud a film revolving around Nazis.With 'Flame and Citron', a Danish film, I've made notable exception. Everything felt good, right from the steel gray sky on down: the script, props, costumes, even the major 'watering' holes. The plot moved forward almost as fast as that sordid period lasted in Denmark. The actors especially those who portrayed the two main characters were plausible. Even the Nazi occupiers gave good support though as fierce opposition; better make that as brutal suppressors of the Danish 'resistance'.One prominent Nazi, Herr Hoffman, even as the Copenhagen SS chief at times appeared almost, well, human. Maybe that wasn't the director's intent. However, from where I sat, that was the impression Hoffman gave.On the other hand, the wiry rimmed Gestapo chief's many speeches/soliloquies added little to the plot's progression. Often Hoffman's own words revealed his dark nature. That was expected given who is employers were, no?Not well versed in Danish history, especially concerning that turbulent WW II period, my instincts scream that this film 'told the truth'. And as macabre as many scenes were, my sympathies still lay with the Danes. My guess is the period's experts would share my opinion.Even against daunting odds, brave little Denmark put up a dogged, albeit costly fight. The Big Nazi War Machine though won, (I think); that's no surprise. No doubt that the two main protagonists, Flame and Citron, as the Resistance's crack enforcers played a most pivotal even momentum changing role.And the film's producers/director gave much credence to that perspective, right to the sad end. My wish is that more films of this genre were produced in the same excellent 9mm caliber.Alas, in that same regard, there's a conspicuous absence of these true 'gems' in the cinema trade. Moreover, Hollywood studios could learn much from the Danish film industry.And you can take that to the Krone bank.

After multiple viewings, this film has become one of my favorites. It's truly magnificent. I loved absolutely everything about it.Living in a smallish city in Australia we don't get many foreign films, if any at all. Most of the movies shown at the theaters are large Hollywood productions. But none of those come close this this film. I find myself constantly disgusted whenever I try to see a mainstream sort of film now. Thure Lindhart and Mads Mikkelsen's performance was stunning, and better than I've seen from any of the high paid Hollywood actors.This is the film that got me interested in resistance/partisan movies, though it still remains one of my favorites. The war of a partisan is so different to that of a soldier, claustrophobic, full of paranoia and double crossing. It makes for a great film, but only if executed correctly. Flame and Citron was. I'm so glad I saw this, and I wish that more people would see gems such as Flame and Citron.