Flame & Citron/Flammen og Citronen (2008) - Madsen's thrilling WWII resistance picture

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+ Best Big Flop Movie of the Year + Best Danish Movie of the Year + Best Thriller of the Year

Stars Mads Mikkelsen and Thure Lindhardt stand out in period garbs on this deliberately ruffed up poster for Ole Christian Madsen's Flame & Citron

A small group of Danish resistance fighters during WWII commit determined efforts out of Copenhagen to assassinate the greatest Nazi criminals that come into their country. But the work tears at them from all angles.

Flame & Citron is written by Lars Kristian Andersen (The Shooter/Skytten (2013)) and Danish co-writer-director Ole Christian Madsen (Banshee (2013-16)). The Danish resistance heroes are given the very biggest paintbrush production-wise here, in a Danish film production context, and a role-model seems to be master filmmaker Steven Spielberg and his great Munich (2005).
For a Danish film, Flame & Citron is handsomely made, although one inevitably feels that the story has probably been exaggerated a bit here and there. After a while the title duo characters also capture one's imagination, thanks to good performances from Mads Mikkelsen (The Green Butchers/De Grønne Slagtere (2003)) and Thure Lindhardt (Little Soldier/Lille Soldat (2008)). Lars Mikkelsen (House of Cards (2015-17)), Jesper Christensen (The Interpreter (2005)), a tremendous Stine Stengade (Above Suspicion (2013), TV-series) and Christian Berkel (Miracle at St. Anna (2008)) complete the fine cast.
Especially suspenseful is the third act of this war thriller romance, which, however, is undoubtedly mostly of interest to Danes.

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Listen to a part of the score for the film here, composed by Karsten Fundal (Danny's Doomsday/Dannys Dommedag (2014))

Cost: 8.6 mil. $
Box office: 10.1 mil. $
= Big flop (1.17 times the cost)
[Flame & Citron was released 28 March (Denmark) and runs 130 minutes. Madsen had been fascinated with the real-life Flame & Citron resistance duo since his childhood and researched the film for 8 years, while also gathering the necessary funding, which involved 7 European countries and no less than 25 companies and governmental support funds. Filming took place from March - May 2007 in Copenhagen, Denmark, Berlin, Germany and Prague, Czech Republic. The 46 mil. DKK budget made the film reportedly the most expensive Danish film ever staged. It was the most popular film of the year in Denmark, selling 673,741 tickets. It opened #65 to a 15k $ first weekend in 2 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #58 and in 8 theaters (different weeks) and grossed 148k $ (1.5 % of the total gross). The biggest 3 markets were main production country Denmark with 9.2 mil. $ (91 % of the total gross), Germany with 301k $ (3 %) and Norway with 149k $ (1.5 %). Roger Ebert gave the film a 3/4 star review, equal to the one here. The film won 1/3 Bodil award nominations (Danish film critics' awards), 5/14 Robert awards (Danish Oscar) and was nominated for a European Film award. Madsen returned with Superclásico (2011). Mikkelsen returned in Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky (2009). Lindhardt returned in shorts The Duality of Love (2008) and Closed Doors (2008) and theatrically in comedy turkey Take the Trash/Blå Mænd (2008). Stengade returned in Moving Up/Spillets Regler (2008). Flame & Citron is certified fresh at 87 % with a 6.8 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Flame & Citron?

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

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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?

Back to Bataan (1945) - Wayne in the Pacific

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One exciting, and a little strange, old poster for Edward Dmytryk's Back to Bataan

QUICK REVIEW:

Back to Bataan is about the heroic resistance fight of the Philippines together with the Americans against the imperialist Japanese in the middle years of WWII. 
The film has propagandistic overtones, - as could be expected, - because it was a contemporary war depiction made and released during the biggest war effort the US had ever participated in, - a war effort that was enormously heavy in human and economic losses, - but there still is at least one Japanese in the film who is not entirely vicious.

John Wayne in the Pacific in Back to Bataan

Anthony Quinn (La Strada (1954)) seems miscast in this film, but John Wayne (The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)) is rock-solid as the heroic American colonel. Bataan is a little quaint as a war film, but has some fascinating scenes.
Wayne, who went on to be one of Hollywood's most prominent Republicans, was surprised and dismayed to learn during the production of this film that both its Canadian-born director Edward Dmytryk (The Caine Mutiny (1954)) and screenwriter Ben Barzman (The Heroes of Telemark (1965)) (who was later blacklisted in the years of McCarthyism's Red Scare) were more or less communists.

Watch the hyperbolic original trailer right here

Budget: Unknown
Box office: 2.4 mil. $
= Unknown

You are welcome to add points or opinions on Back to Bataan
Do you know any American WWII-films made during the war that are recommendable?