Flammen & CItronen i England

»A well-made, satisfying film.«

Sådan skriver en af Englands mest kritiske anmeldere, Guardians Peter Bradshaw, i sin anmeldelse af Ole Christian Madsens modstandsdrama Flammen & Citronen, der lige har haft premiere i Storbritannien.

Han skriver videre:

»This is a handsome-looking second world war movie about Danish resistance agents under Nazi occupation. It may be destined to be watched largely on DVD or TV: but this is intelligent film-making from director Ole Christian Madsen, based on a true story of two legendary Danish patriots.«

Peter Bradshaw er ikke den eneste engelske filmanmelder, som kan lide filmen.

Hans kollega på Observer, Philip French, skriver f.eks.:

»It’s a chilling story, coolly executed, about morality, expediency and realpolitik and well worth seeing. A couple of minutes’ background reading will enhance your enjoyment.«

Og i The Times skriver Edward Porter:

»Ole Christian Madsen’s film is an involving, well-constructed piece. It’s particularly good on the anguish felt by its characters at their inability to preserve their integrity in the moral quagmire that surrounds them.«

Mest begejstret er dog Sight & Sounds Kate Stables, der bruger mange linier på at rose filmen, instruktøren og skuespillerne. Hun slutter sin anmeldelse således:

»Madsen likes to jolt his audience as well as beckon us in, however. Just as the film’s whispered voiceover invites complicity, its disconcertingly jagged close ups and unexpected zooms, or a cunning mix of archival news footage and fiction for the Copenhagen strike of June ’44, throw us off-balance again. Characters are accused or excused of treachery with head-spinning frequency, until we become as unsure of the ground beneath our feet as the two protagonists. It’s a measure of the film’s proficiency and confidence that this wilful uncertainty neatly fits rather than fights the narrative, and that together they create a tough, unsettling reading of the past which feels somehow right for our uneasy present.«

Flotte ord, må man sige, om en succesfuld film, der i Danmark var med til at gøre filmåret 2008 til et rekordår.