Both films are exceptional in their budget (over €6.2m each) and in their subject matter. Never before has the story of the two legendary Danish resistance fighters Flame and Citron who liquidated informers in Copenhagen during WWII, been brought to the silver screen, and equally never before had the life of Norwegian war hero Max Manus been dramatised for a feature film adaptation. Both Flame & Citron and Max Manus therefore offer this unique and often successful combination of commercial appeal and artistic ambition. But aside from their desire to entertain domestic and world audiences, the two major Nordic productions share the ambition to shed a new or different light on historic events.
Produced by Lars Bredo Rahbek (Nimbus Film), Flame & Citron is directed by the versatile Ole Christian Madsen (Nordkraft) who had under his lense some of Denmark's finest actors (Mads Mikkelsen, Thure Lindhardt, Stine Stengade). The film was made as an ‘Eurimages' co-production with Germany's Wüste Film controlling 21% of the financing. Other co-financiers include the Danish Film Institute, TV2 Denmark, Sirena Film (Czech Republic), Studio Babelsberg, Filmförderfonds Hamburg, MBB Berlin Brandeburg, the new Deutsche Filmförderfonds, 4½ Production (Norway), and Nordisk Film & TV Fond. According to Rahbek, a total of 23 international investors were involved in the project.
While getting ready for the film's Gala premiere on March 25, Rahbek told Nordisk Film & TV Fond why he thinks that Danes are ready to discover a darker side of their history: "We are shedding light on a part of our history that we all know fairly well but these particular events are relatively unknown as very few people have spoken about them. I often compare Flame & Citron to the German film Downfall about Hitler's final days. It could only have been made when the secretary of Hitler decided to go on record and be interviewed. It's the same thing here: we only know about these dramatic events because some members of the resistance movement have started to talk about them some six or seven years ago. It was the first time ever they discussed these issues. This is the first film dealing with this subject matter. So there is a huge interest already from the media and the public," noted Rahbek.
For him, Flame & Citron is also relevant to international audiences because it questions the role that native people take on when fighting against a foreign invasion. "If you look at the situation today with the invasion of Iraq or Afghanistan, it continuously raises the question: are the people who refuse to surrender and who resist, terrorists or are they freedom fighters? So although this film takes place in Denmark, I think it has some great relevance for audiences around the world. Plus it's not a typical period film. It's structured like a thriller."
Under Sandrew Metronome's expert hands, Flame & Citron has benefited from a marketing and promotional campaign on the same level as Lords of the Rings and Harry Potter films according to Rahbek. The Match Factory is in charge of world sales.
Max Manus currently shooting since February 12, is directed by Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg who made their names as commercial directors before filming Penelope Cruz and Salma Hayek in Bandidas. Here, they have in front of their camera Aksel Hennie, Nicolai Cleve Broch and Viktoria Winge among others.
The film is produced by John M. Jacobsen (The Pathfinder) and his colleague from Filmkameratene Sveinung Golimo. Germany is co-producing (B&T Film) and co-financing was provided by the Norwegian Film Fund, Nordisk Film & TV Fond and Eurimages. Jacobsen and Golimo were approached by scriptwriter Thomas Nordseth-Tiller who had won the Best Pitch for the film's script in the 2006 Kosmorama Film Festival, a script based on Max Manus' own autobiography.
The film portrays the WWII hero from the moment he arrived in the Nazi-occupied Norway, after he had fought the communists in Finland. Back home, he immediately joined the resistance movement. He became famous for sabotage operations, including the Nazi Donau ship in December 1944.
"When we read the Max Manus script, we were thrilled," said Golimo. "It has everything. It's a classic war movie, but it has a very interesting main character and a strong love story. Max Manus was definitely a war hero, although not a perfect one."
For Golimo, the film's appeal relies in its ability to describe WWII and those particular facts in a more honest way than the popular Norwegian war films of the 1950s. "We think Norwegian audiences are prepared to see more nuances in the stories of our heroes," continues Golimo. "We also think that our movie will enlighten this historic period for a new and younger generation. It will therefore appeal to those who grew up in the aftermath of the war, as well as those who have learnt about the war through computer games."
Max Manus will be ready early 2009 and domestic release will be handled by Nordisk Film.
Click here to see trailer of Flame and Citron.