Flame & Citron () is a 2008 historical drama film co-written and directed by the Danish director Ole Christian Madsen. The film, a fictionalized account based on historical events, stars Thure Lindhardt and Mads Mikkelsen as two Danish resistance movement fighters nicknamed Flammen and Citronen, during the Nazi occupation of Denmark in World War II. Attracted by the story of the pair since he was twelve, Madsen spent eight years along with co-writer Lars K. Andersen researching historical archives to produce it.
Madsen's idea was to bring attention to the story of Flammen and Citronen as he felt it had been neglected or misrepresented. The most expensive Danish film produced to that date, it was co-produced by German companies because initially there was no interest in producing the film in Denmark. Portraying the protagonists as morally ambiguous characters, the director tried to depict war as a complicated experience that goes beyond a good versus evil dichotomy. With visual and narrative references borrowed from film noir and the French film Army of Shadows, Flame & Citron also explores themes of love, betrayal, and the emotional aspects of relationships.
The film was released in Denmark on 28 March 2008 to positive reviews. The most-watched film in the country that year, it was praised mostly for the actors' performances, dramatic style, and depiction of war and its moral dilemmas. Considered an art film by some critics, the film was compared, both favorably and negatively, to Army of Shadows and other war films; it also sparked a debate over its historical accuracy. Additionally, it was nominated for both domestic and international film awards, including the Robert Awards, the Bodil Awards, and the European Film Awards.
Plot
Set after the Nazi invasion of Denmark, the film focuses on the Holger Danske resistance group's Bent Faurschou Hviid (known as Flammen) and Jørgen Haagen Schmith (known as Citronen). In a bar, Bent flirts with a woman, who identifies herself as Ketty Selmer and disturbs him by saying his real name. Bent follows and confronts her, whereupon she says she is a courier running messages between Stockholm and Copenhagen.
Aksel Winther, Bent and Jørgen's handler, asks them to kill Elisabeth Lorentzen, Horst Gilbert, and Hermann Seibold–members of the Abwehr, German military intelligence. Bent and Jørgen argue over it as they kill only Danes, to reduce the chance of Nazi retaliation. Winther claims to be acting on orders from the government in exile. Bent kills Lorentzen but fails to kill Gilbert and Seibold. Jørgen, his wife, Bodil and their daughter, Ann, celebrate Ann's birthday in their car as they lack money, and Bodil laments over their relationship. Later, Bent, Jørgen and Whinter meet Spex from the Danish Army Intelligence. He says there will be no more attacks, as they need peace for a big attack. They agree not to follow Spex's order and Jørgen kills Gilbert. That night, Jørgen robs a grocery store and takes the products to his family; however, Bodil announces she is seeing another man.
After several members of the resistance are killed by the Gestapo, Winther suspects they have an informant. Later, Bent visits Ketty's hotel and they have sex. Jørgen visits his wife and advises her boyfriend to treat her properly or he will return. In a meeting, Winther says the informer is Ketty and orders her death. Bent meets Ketty; she tells him she works for Winther and for army intelligence and that Winther does not work for the British. Winther, involved with Gilbert and Seibold, had ordered their death to not to be seen as a traitor. Bent and Jørgen search for Winther in a bar and discover that he has escaped to Stockholm. They realize it is a trap, and escape from the Gestapo. They decide to kill Karl Heinz Hoffmann, the Gestapo leader and then take over the Gestapo's favorite restaurant. Bent abandons his plan when he sees approaching police. That night, Ketty says to Bent that he and Jørgen should go to Stockholm. In the meeting, they are offered positions in the Danish Army but refuse. A man called Ravnen gives them the name of the real informer and Jørgen kills him.