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Just when you thought every possible World War II story had been told, along comes "Defiance" or "A Secret" or "Katyn" or, now, "Flame & Citron."
Based on true events, it tells the story of Resistance fighters during the German occupation of Denmark in 1944. Bent Faurschou-Hviid is Flame (Thure Lindhardt), for his red hair, and Jorgen Haagen Schmith is known by the code name Citron (Mads Mikkelsen).
Shortly after the movie opens, we see Flame dressing and giving himself a pep talk: "If you stay calm, no one will suspect a thing. People will only be looking at the dead. ... I know I'm doing the right thing. It is the only thing."
- Starring: Mads Mikkelsen, Thure Lindhardt.
- Rating: Not rated but R in nature. In Danish and German with English subtitles.
He is the shooter, while Citron is the sleep-deprived driver who stays in the car. His wife, struggling on her own to care for their daughter, tells him he's not cut out for this kind of work. "You're just not that kind of man."
As it turns out, he may be that kind of man, and then some.
But Flame and Citron begin to question their orders and wonder who they can trust in an underground world that runs on a river of deception. Should they shoot women? Can they trust their fellow Resistance fighters? Why can't they go after the obvious target of a Gestapo officer?
The price on Flame's distinctive head keeps getting higher, but so do the moral, personal and political stakes.
Directed and co-written by Ole Christian Madsen, "Flame & Citron" (also known as "Flammen & Citronen") puts us in the Resistance fighters' shoes. They did not practice bloodless, long-distance killings; they would be given an index card with a photo clipped to the corner and often look their victims in the eyes as they shot them.
Not everything goes according to plan, and sometimes innocents are hurt or killed.
Mikkelsen, known for roles as diverse as the villainous Le Chiffre in "Casino Royale," an orphanage owner in India in "After the Wedding" and Tristan in "King Arthur," presents a world-weary counterpoint to the brash confidence of Lindhart ("Angels and Demons").
Although we get a snapshot of Flame's immediate past, we don't get enough of Citron's to appreciate his leap. The movie plunges us into the tail end of the war and throws a lot of faces and names at us; it's not impenetrable but some characters get a light once over.
We are long past the days when war is depicted as black and white, and "Flame & Citron" emphasizes the moral thicket and the danger. These heroes may occasionally and unavoidably have blood on their hands, but they make sure their sacrifice is for the greater good of their beloved motherland.
Opens today at the Manor theater in Squirrel Hill.
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