Flammen & Citronen (Flame & Citron) (The Flame and the Lemon) (2008)
87%RT Audience Score: 82%
Awards & Nominations: 9 wins & 15 nominations
The true story of the Danish resistance in WW2, though lengthy and sprawling, is gripping and competently made
Flame & Citron is like a wartime version of a film noir, with plenty of moral ambiguity and suspense to keep you on the edge of your seat. The director clearly drew inspiration from Army of Shadows, but adds his own modern twist to the story. The film may not be for everyone, but if you’re a fan of stylish thrillers with complex characters, this one is definitely worth a watch. Plus, who doesn’t love a good overhead shot?
Production Company(ies)
Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Pictures,
Distributor
IFC Films
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Berlin, Germany
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
Year of Release
2008
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:2.35 : 1
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Runtime:2h 12m
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Language(s):Danish, German
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jul 31, 2009 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 15, 2009
Genre(s)
War
Keyword(s)
War, Danish resistance, assassins, Nazis, private equity, growth strategy, value creation, strategy consultant, Stax Boston, expanding team, apply, Tomatometer, Fresh Kernels, movie, TV, actors, critics, box office, budget, producer, director, writer, genre, MPAA rating, Flame, Citron, Thure Lindhardt, Mads Mikkelsen, Stine Stengade, Peter Mygind, Lars Bredo Rahbek, Ole Christian Madsen, Lars Andersen, IFG Films, Gunman, Aksel Winther, Ketty Selmer, morally complicated, fact-based plot, film noir, World War II, morally conflicted, shoot-outs, British High Command, Gestapo commander, Hanns Zischler, horror movies, MCU movies, Netflix series
Worldwide gross: $10,186,084
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $14,030,941
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,848
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 1,530,092
US/Canada gross: $148,089
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $203,987
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,544
US/Canada opening weekend: $15,254
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $21,012
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,498
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): DKK 45,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Mads Mikkelsen – Citronen
Stine Stengade – Ketty Selmer
Peter Mygind – Aksel Winther
Mille Lehfeldt – Bodil
Christian Berkel – Hoffmann
Director(s)
Ole Christian Madsen
Writer(s)
Lars Andersen, Ole Christian Madsen
Producer(s)
Lars Bredo Rahbek
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
9 wins & 15 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (70) | Top Critics (35) | Fresh (60) | Rotten (10)
November 18, 2011 | Rating: 3/5
Hank Sartin
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
Madsen has acknowledged a strong debt to Pierre Melville’s 1969 classic Army of Shadows. This one deserves a seat at the same table.
January 15, 2010
Jonathan F. Richards
Film.com
TOP CRITIC
It’s fast-paced, stylish and thrilling. But it also raises one tough question.
December 17, 2009 | Rating: 3/4
Michael O’Sullivan
Washington Post
TOP CRITIC
It winds its way through a tricky, fact-based plot that’s sometimes reminiscent of film noir. At the center is a bewitching femme fatale whose allegiances and motives are less than clear.
December 17, 2009 | Rating: 3.5/4
John Hartl
Seattle Times
TOP CRITIC
While it may not be a smorgasbord of red herrings and red meat, Flame and Citron is often chilling.
December 17, 2009 | Rating: 2.5/4
Joe Williams
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
TOP CRITIC
Madsen makes the most of his budget, and he keeps pulling his camera back for long, visually sumptuous overhead shots.
November 13, 2009 | Rating: 3/4
Ty Burr
Boston Globe
TOP CRITIC
The film is too staid and over-conscious of its own importance to be entertaining. Give me The Great Escape any day of the week.
November 4, 2018 | Rating: 2/5
Kaleem Aftab
The List
A hard jewel of righteous political fury.
August 29, 2011
Kelly Vance
East Bay Express
…a film noir set in wartime where there’s moral ambiguity almost everywhere you look as well as large measures of heroism, treachery and ordinary human failings.
December 18, 2009 | Rating: 8/10
Sarah Boslaugh
Playback:stl
Unfortunately, although it was supposedly inspired by the morally conflicted French Resistance masterpiece Army of Shadows, Flame fizzles more than it flames.
November 6, 2009 | Rating: 1.5/4
Chris Hewitt
St. Paul Pioneer Press
A suspenseful, often riverting drama of World War II resistance that combines old-fashioned virtues of craft and style with a more modern sense of nuance and complexity.
October 31, 2009 | Rating: B
Frank Swietek
One Guy’s Opinion
This film is based on a true story that director Ole Christian Madsen feels must be told with earnest noir and war-movie clichés.
September 3, 2009 | Rating: 2/4
Peter Keough
Boston Phoenix…
Plot
During Nazi occupation, red-headed Bent Faurschou-Hviid (“Flame”) and Jørgen Haagen Schmith (“Citron”), assassins in the Danish resistance, take orders from Winther, who’s in direct contact with Allied leaders. One shoots, the other drives. Until 1944, they kill only Danes; then Winther gives orders to kill Germans. When a target tells Bent that Winther’s using them to settle private scores, doubt sets in, complicated by Bent’s relationship with the mysterious Kitty Selmer, who may be a double agent. Also, someone in their circle is a traitor. Can Bent and Jørgen kill an über-target, evade capture, and survive the war? And is this heroism, naiveté, or mere hatred?
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Fresh Kernels doesn’t provide any goofy, funny, or odd comments about the film or its cast.
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