![]() And it is the story of those unfortunates, many of whom were just in their teens, that writer-director Martin Zandvliet tells in his film “Land of Mine,” which was Denmark’s Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language Film. That left the task of clearance to the unfortunate German POWs, under the direction of the Danes. When Denmark was finally liberated, the retreating German troops did not take the mines with them. So they fortified Danish beaches, including burying a million and a half or so land mines under the dunes. ![]() But it might have happened in Denmark, or so the German suspected. Over the previous years, the German High Command had been trying to figure out a way to stave off what they knew was coming: an Allied invasion somewhere along the European coastline.Īs it turned out, that invasion would occur in France. Following is the review that I wrote for Spokane Public Radio:ĭuring the waning days of World War II, the Danish government forced some 2,000 German prisoners of war to execute a dangerous mission. Land of Mine is available to watch online on Amazon Prime Video as part of a Prime membership or a £5.99 monthly subscription.I love Danish movies, which is why I insisted on seeing "Land of Mine," one of the five films nominated for the Best Foreign Language Oscar. The film looks stunning throughout, with cinematographer Camilla Hjelm Knudsen (the director’s wife their young daughter also plays a key role) making striking use of both the Danish beach locations and the crisp sunlight.īy turns chilling, heart-breaking and provocative, this is a powerful, well made war thriller that’s worth seeking out. That element is given an extra twist by the fact that they’ve all been told they can go home once the job is done, so, at a certain point, they allow themselves to fantasise about what they’ll do when they make it back to Germany. At times, the film almost feels like a prestigious horror movie, as you know that not all of the boys are going to get off that beach alive. The structure is particularly impressive – Zandvliet establishes the perilously high stakes early on, when one of the boys gets blown to smithereens, and thereafter, every time the boys shove their mine-detecting sticks into the sand, your heart rises into your mouth. Needless to say, the film is unbearably tense from beginning to end. It’s made clear that the boys are entirely innocent, but you find yourself wondering whether you’d feel the same level of sympathy for them, if they were standard issue evil Nazis familiar from dozens of war pictures. Zandvliet’s script plays complex, shifting games with ideas of sympathy, not least when high-ranking Danish and English officers (including Mikkel Boe Følsgaard as Rasmussen’s sneering superior) show up to drunkenly abuse the boys. Emil and Oskar Belton are both terrific as inseparable, baby-faced identical twins Ernst and Werner. Hofmann is particularly good as Sebastian, displaying a sensitivity, an intelligence and a sense of compassion that marks him out as a natural leader – all qualities that Rasmussen belatedly comes to appreciate. The young cast are superb, as the naïve soldiers – it’s clear that none of them have seen much action in terms of warfare, each of them having been conscripted by Hitler towards the end of the conflict. Moller is a compelling presence as Rassmussen and his character arc, while admittedly predictable (you can tell he has a soft spot, because he has a cute dog), is immediately engaging. Zandvliet has cast his film extremely well. However, as the boys begin their impossibly dangerous task, he gradually softens towards them, forging a touching bond with their de facto leader, Sebastian (Louis Hofmann). Still boiling with fury after five years of German occupation, Rassmussen isn’t particularly concerned about the welfare of his charges, locking them in a shed at night and barely bothering to feed them. Soon afterwards, Rassmussen receives a new assignment – he is in charge of training a group of German POWs (most of them teenagers) and then supervising them, as they painstakingly remove some 45,000 landmines from a remote stretch of Danish beach. The film opens with Danish Army Sergeant Rassmussen (Roland Moller) angrily punching defeated German soldiers, as they march out of Denmark. It’s a fascinating and chilling story that marks out Zandvliet as a significant talent to watch. ![]() Nominated for the Best Foreign Film Oscar, this gripping Danish war thriller from writer-director Martin Zandvliet is based on a little-known piece of history from the end of WWII. Watch Land of Mine online in the UK: Amazon Prime / BFI Player / Curzon Home Cinema / Apple TV (iTunes) / Amazon Instant Video Cast: Roland Møller, Louis Hofmann, Joel Basman
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