This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, March 5, 2009 - Because of its powerful dramatization of political subject matter and its well-researched details, "Flame & Citron (Flammen & Citronen)" will inevitably be compared to writer/director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's Academy-Awarding-winning "The Lives of Others" (2006). Astutely political (though dealing with World War II rather than East German oppression), "Flame & Citron" adds an astonishing chapter to Denmark's experiences as a Nazi-occupied country during World War II.
Additional similarities include the central protagonists standing up against tyranny, a breathtaking unfolding of events and tragic consequences for some. Also, as with "Lives," "Flame & Citron" requires careful attention, for what at first seems self-evident becomes increasingly murky and complicated.
In the opening scene in 1940, black-and-white newsreel footage establishes the Nazis triumphantly rolling into Copenhagen. Through the archival footage, co-writer/director Ole Christian Madsen vigorously immerses viewers in this historical moment. Segueing to color (though browns and grays dominate throughout), the film focuses immediately on the central title characters, two men involved fully and violently in resistance against the Nazis. Their resistance involves executing Nazi collaborators, only to have a trusted (maybe) person tell them that in fact they've been killing fellow resistance fighters because they've been purposely fed bad information. Round and round they go with the inability to know whom to trust and what to do.
At the Q&A after the screening, Madsen said that every detail in "Flame & Citron" had been researched and documented as a basis for the powerful dramatization of the two men known as Flame and Citron. Flame's name comes from his red hair, not his passion for resistance. Moreover, all scenes and characters are authentic; Madsen talked to all the living witnesses he could find. In addition, studying archives in Holland and France revealed new individuals.
For the film's audience, Madsen said he needed Flame to explain some things and so a written letter was used in the film. Madsen also explained that in Denmark Gestapo leader Hoffmann was one of the most controversial Nazis. After the war, Danes protected him. He went to Germany and then came back to Denmark, where he eventually received a death sentence in 1948. Instead, Hoffmann went to prison and was released in 1952, went back to Germany, worked as a lawyer, married and was known as being "oh so charming." He wouldn't reveal information about others and died in 1976. Madsen cited this as an example of how complicated and fraught with controversy this entire period was and still is.
Aksel Winther (another character in the film) played a double game. He helped some Jews flee in 1943 and was prosecuted in 1948 for killing about 500 people. He pled to "war actions" and was freed. Winther went to Turkey, eventually came back to Denmark, and at age 80 went to prison for trafficking with French narcotics gangsters.
One of the German colonels in the film, Gilbert, said, "When you're a partisan, you're a soldier without a front." "Flame & Citron" shows the impossible attempts to assess the shifting liaisons and self-protective feints and dodges of so many caught on these movable fronts.
Diane Carson's film reviews can be heard on KDHX (88.1 FM) .
The Lens is the blog of Cinema St. Louis, hosted by the Beacon.