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Thure Lindhardt, Mads Mikkelsen, Stine Stengade, Peter Mogge Mygind, Mille Hoffmeyer Lehfeldt ... see more see more... , Flemming Enevold , Christian Berkel , Hanns Zischler , Claus Riis Ostergaard , Lars Mikkelsen , Jesper Christensen

Festival cause célèbre Ole Christian Madsen -- the director of critically championed prior efforts including Kira's Reason (2001) and Prague (2006) -- turns away from the domestic drama that character... read more read more...ized his earlier filmography with this unusual period thriller, adapted from historical events. Thure Lindhardt and Mads Mikkelsen star, respectively, as Flame and Citron. As two members of the anti-Nazi Danish resistance during the Second World War, their activities predominantly consist of hunting down and rubbing out Denmark's most prominent Nazi collaborators, and thus furthering the way for the Allied cause. Although Madsen opts for conventional subject matter here, and even a traditional perspective given his film's anti-Nazi stance, his deglamorized presentation retains a certain uniqueness, with the two main characters presented not as conventional heroes, but thoroughly desperate characters from the dregs of society with nothing left to lose except for their own lives -- and sociopaths prone to the most sadistic acts of ultraviolence against the enemy. Citron fares worst, as an utterly irredeemable alcoholic and drug addict, crumbling beneath the weight of a miserable, rotten marriage and a less-than-glowing relationship with his young daughter. In touting the film, Madsen openly cited Jean-Pierre Melville's Army of Shadows (1969) as one of his key influences. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

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80% liked it

4,372 ratings

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87% liked it

69 critics

Unrated, 2 hr. 12 min.

Directed by: Ole Christian Madsen

Release Date: March 28, 2008

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DVD Release Date: February 23, 2010

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Stats: 465 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (465)

  • flixsterman
    April 7, 2012
    flixsterman
    True stories seem to pack a little more umph.
  • itsjustme2004
    October 14, 2010
    itsjustme2004
    Well....all in all I thought that this movie was really good. Strong acting. Strong production. Strong true story. BUT, in between the action parts it really kind of dragged. Plus, I think they could have shaved off maybe 30 min or so. That being said, this is one of my favorite ... read moresubjects, and this movie really did try hard to tell an excellent story. Word of advice: Dont watch this and Benjamin Button in the same day. Both really good movies, but you may have to take a nap in between the two.
  • imrealgod
    July 16, 2010
    imrealgod
    Okay, it's a less known story of two martyrs (read 'resistance fighters' if you feel 'martyrs' is an exaggerated term) that needs to be told. Effort appreciated. But besides that the movie fails to rise above an average based-on-a-true-story action thriller war movie with a bit o... read moref interwoven romantic track. The blending of these genres isn't handled quite efficiently, & often served as a distraction for me.

    Regarding performances, while the 2 lead actors Thure Lindhardt (Flammen) & Mads Mikkelsen (Citronen) are impressive, the actress Stine Stengade (Ketty Selmer) seemed as a miscast to me. The supporting actors (actors playing Winther, Hoffmann, Gilbert, etc.) are credible, though.

    Finally, while not a must watch, the movie has its fair share of interesting moments & is quite watchable once.


    P.S. I'm not sure, but the term 'martyrs' may serve as a spoiler. Thought I should have the decency to let ya know, despite of being unsure. Hope I did the right, kind & helpful thing by mentioning about this (potential) spoiler alert.
  • rubystevens
    April 3, 2010
    rubystevens
    a well-acted and mostly intelligent spy thriller about two famous danish resistance fighters in WW2. the atmosphere is very film noir, the story perhaps a bit romanticized and probably only loosely based on real events, as neither man survived the war. few plot holes here and t... read morehere but fairly intense with an interesting perspective on shifting morality amid the fog of war
  • LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    September 24, 2009
    LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    "There is nothing that is fair or unfair. This is war."

    A drama centered on two fighters in the Holger Danske World War II resistance group.

    REVIEW

    Based on a true story, this twisting tale of ... read moretwo second world war folk heroes of the Danish resistance unfolds with noir-ish intrigue. Atmospherically photographed on a fat budget, the film looks stunning but retains a gritty period realism.

    The performances are universally strong and there is a real chemistry between the two central characters; Mads Mikkelsens' quirky Citronen, a twitching, sweaty bundle of amphetamine-fuelled nervous energy and his sole ally, the flame-haired, but relatively cool-headed Flammen (Thure Lindhardt). This is a war film - but the war we experience here has a dreamlike, claustrophobic quality. This is a world of lies, paranoia and spiralling violence which threatens to erode our heroes moral certainty and destroy their sanity.

    A buddy movie with echoes of "Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid" (without the jokes); "Bonnie & Clyde" (but with swastikas). There's even a little "Naked Lunch" thrown into the mix. The first film I've seen by director Madsen has left me intrigued, impressed and hungry for more.
  • DrBenway
    September 9, 2009
    DrBenway
    A well done biopic of the most famous members of the Danish resistance to the German occupation of World War II; Bent Faurschou-Hviid (Flame) and Jorgen Haagen Schmith (Citron), both of whom were posthumously awarded the Medal of Freedom in 1951 by President Harry Truman.

    Taki... read moreng his cue from Jean-Pierre Melville's Army of Shadows, director Ole Christian Madsen generates a clouded sense of paranoia and conspiracy while the rest of the film plays out like a spy noir and comic book movie with gangsters on both sides, a dame in the middle and "doing the right thing" having different meanings for different people. Mads Mikkelsen is becoming an actor who's films I seem to be seeking out more and more since he hasn't let me down yet.

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  • gor41
    July 27, 2009
    gor41
    Danish war time resistance put under the microscope and raised by the central relationship. Mads Mikkelson and Thure Lindhardt develop a believable largely unspoken male bond based on mutual respect. It also succeeds in creating a sense of unease and mistrust in those around them... read more. Admittedly it doesn't say much new about war time resistance but it has an admirably measured pace which lets the characters really grow on you so you care about their fate.
  • gator681
    February 22, 2011
    gator681
    In "Flame and Citron," Bent(Thure Lindhardt, a cross between Eric Stoltz and Tilda Swinton) and Jorgen(Mads Mikkelsen, working the Peter Lorre sidekick role well) do their bit for the war effort in occupied Denmark by assassinating Nazi collaborators under the command of Aksel Wi... read morenther(Peter Mygind) who gets his marching orders directly from British High Command. Such actions do not come without a price as Bent has a 10,000 kroner price on his head. Even then, he wants a shot at Hoffmann(Christian Berkel), the local Gestapo commander, but is denied approval. Meanwhile, Bent is rather curious why Ketty Selmer(Stine Stengade) knows his real name.

    "Flame and Citron" is a well-photographed movie that has a more ambiguous take on World War II than usual which ironically also ties the movie into knots, making it more convoluted than it had to be.(And the scenes involving Jorgen's family are completely irrelevant.) Such complexity does not extend to the title characters who are the simple heroes of the piece which conflicts with any intelligent attempt to explore the repercussions and motivations of politcal violence.(Anyway, "Love and Death" already beat this film to the punch.) Gilbert(Hanns Zischler) gives three very good reasons for people drawn to it. A fourth might include Bent's grandstanding while a fifth might be those who actually enjoy it. In the end, I'm wondering if Bent's spending so much time in the bathtub is supposed to link him to Jean-Paul Marat.
  • michaelneumann
    March 18, 2010
    michaelneumann
    Beautiful, riveting noir/war film, it fascinatingly and sensitively studies the titular war heroes of the WW2 Danish resistance. I think it came very close to becoming a rote war story in terms of the overall arc and expected fates of everybody involved, but there were some unex... read morepected complexities in the form of these men unquestioningly following their cause and the confusion and desperation they experience when the people they're assassinating may not be who they say they are. In some ways, it was a study on just what people would say, fiction or fact, when faced with the barrel of a gun. In navigating this crazy time and place in the world, I felt we saw two relatable, connected, yet conflicted humans in "Flame" and "Citron" (excellently portrayed by Thure Lindhardt and Mads Mikkelsen, respectively) and felt their passion and disorientation, and a subtle but effective chronicling of Citron's quietly accepting of his talent to kill as well as a sort of coming-of-age for Flame. It did over-dramatize the hunt for Gestapo chief Hoffman as the singular focus and representative for Nazi evil in Copenhagen, and the movie already started to sprawl to the point where incorporating more nuances to this historical epic may have been possible. Still, it's an engrossing and polished film that left little on the table.
  • philla215
    February 16, 2010
    philla215
    An interesting and rare WWII foreign resistance film. Friendship, trust and love of the mother country are all relevant themes of this movie and all are portrayed in a somewhat convincing way. Just shows what people would do just out of hatred for the Nazi regime.

View All Flammen & Citronen (Flame & Citron) (The Flame and the Lemon) Reviews

Critic Reviews

Jonathan F. Richards
January 15, 2010
Jonathan F. Richards, Film.com

Madsen has acknowledged a strong debt to Pierre Melville's 1969 classic Army of Shadows. This one deserves a seat at the same table. Full Review

Michael O'Sullivan
December 17, 2009
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post

It's fast-paced, stylish and thrilling. But it also raises one tough question. Full Review

Ty Burr
November 13, 2009
Ty Burr, Boston Globe

Madsen makes the most of his budget, and he keeps pulling his camera back for long, visually sumptuous overhead shots. Full Review

Colin Covert
November 5, 2009
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune

To its credit, the film gives full weight to the confusion and ambivalence of war; the struggle for liberation from tyranny rarely looks so dubious. Full Review

James Berardinelli
September 9, 2009
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

[An] atypical and moody noir war film. Full Review

Walter V. Addiego
August 21, 2009
Walter V. Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle

Flame & Citron examines the moral shadings of the Danish resistance during World War II without turning into a revisionist bore. Full Review

J. R. Jones
August 20, 2009
J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader

Maintains a high level of suspense for more than two hours. Full Review

Roger Ebert
August 20, 2009
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Flame & Citron, based on the lives of two actual Resistance heroes, is a taut, handsome production -- the most expensive Danish film to date -- and it looks like a film noir, as indeed the costumes, c... Full Review

Kenneth Turan
August 14, 2009
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times

A deeply involving look at people living permanently on the knife-edge of danger. Full Review

Kate Taylor
August 7, 2009
Kate Taylor, Globe and Mail

A satisfying thriller interestingly complicated by its study of character and compromise. Full Review

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