Flame & Citron

Another rousing European World War II thriller pitting good guys against dastardly Nazis, this offering from Danish director Ole Christian Madsen is more solemn than Paul Verhoeven's quick-paced Black Book (VL-5/07) but equally powerful, telling the fact-based tale of two young men, Bent (Thure Lindhardt) and Jorgen (Mads Mikkelsen), who become folk heroes as resistance assassins targeting influential collaborators in Copenhagen during the German occupation. As their notoriety grows, the pair are given the nicknames Flame and Citron, earning first place on the “wanted” list of the local Gestapo chief (Christian Berkel). But they're a flawed and conflicted duo: Bent's a thoughtful fellow who harbors doubts that sometimes interfere with his ability to carry through on assignments—such as an order to shoot a smooth-tongued quisling—and his involvement with a mysterious female courier proves dangerous; Jorgen is an emotional wreck whose wife has moved in with another man. The men are working, moreover, in an environment murky with suspicion and double-crosses, where not even their closest collaborators can be trusted. Flame & Citron's script crams so many incidents, psychological byways, and subtle suggestions of nefarious goings-on into the narrative that it sometimes becomes confusing and repetitive. But the unfamiliarity of the story lends it suspense, keeping viewers guessing until the very end. A drama of wartime resistance that combines old-fashioned craft and style with a more modern sense of nuance and complexity, this is recommended. (F. Swietek)