Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!: This Life/Hvidsten Gruppen (2012) - Riis middle-of-the-road WWII resistance drama

10/17/2015

This Life/Hvidsten Gruppen (2012) - Riis middle-of-the-road WWII resistance drama

♥♥♥

The tag-line for Anne-Grethe Bjarup Riis' This Life translates to, 'Some must die so others can live'

QUICK REVIEW:

In Hvidsten in Jutland, Denmark the locals are angry at the Germans' occupation of Denmark in 1940, and when the opportunity arises, a group of them therefore help the resistance movement smuggle in weapons.

This Life, originally titled Hvidsten Gruppen [The Hvidsten Group], is a true WWII story, written by Ib and Jørgen Kastrup (Storm (2009), both) and producer Regner Grasten (Cinder Rock'n Rella/Askepop - The Movie (2003)) and directed by Anne-Grethe Bjarup Riis (Catch the Dream/Tarok (2013)).
The exciting story is, unfortunately, not transformed into a great film by Riis and Co., which is a shame: The film doesn't draw any lines outside of the confines of Denmark and is mediocre to a degree that makes it of interest exclusively for Danes. - The courageous heroes of the group bring many (nationalist) feelings in motion.
Bodil Jørgensen (Nothing's All Bad/Smukke Mennesker (2010)) is, in glimpses, great, and so is Jens Jørn Spottag (We Shall Overcome/Drømmen (2006)). But apart from them, the acting is of very varying quality and generally too undramatic and controlled, which makes the portrayal seem stiff. The uninspired and uncinematic photography by Morten Bruus (The Circus Casablanca/Circus Casablanca (1981)) contributes to this fault.
The biggest problem with This Life is that there simply weren't enough real talent and ability involved, beginning with director Riis.

Watch the trailer here - unfortunately, the filmmakers have not made it available with English subtitles

Cost: 24 mil. DKR. ~ ca. 3.7 mil. $
Box office: Unknown
= Uncertainty
[This Life was shot in Jutland, including Hvidsten, and in Zealand. Its budget included 6.9 mil DKR. from the Danish Film Institute and 5 mil. DKR from TV2. The film became a major hit in Denmark, where it was the biggest Danish movie of the year with 765k admissions, following 87k admissions in the opening weekend. The film will be counted as a box office success, although the actual revenue is unknown. This Life has a 6.5 rating on IMDb, based on 1,606 users' opinions.]

What do you think of This Life?
Film/s about the resistance during WWII that you want to recommend?

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Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!

Eagerly anticipating this week ... (17-24)

10/17/2015

This Life/Hvidsten Gruppen (2012) - Riis middle-of-the-road WWII resistance drama

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Eagerly anticipating this week ... (16-24)

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