In the realm of “docudramas”, the one war that seems to be a bottomless well of stories is that second World War (and usually the sequel comes up short). Film makers bring us tales often unknown by the general public. Last (and endured) week, we were given a new spin on II’s predecessor WW I in THE OTTOMAN LIEUTENANT (mind you a fiction story with a real historical backdrop). This week sees another little known story of the war in Europe. Less than a year ago, an assassination plot against a high-ranking Nazi stationed in Czechoslovakia was dramatized in ANTHROPOID (still sounds like a monster movie to me). And at last year’s Academy Awards the story of the Sonderkommandos, SON OF SAUL, took home the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. This week’s new release travels a bit north for a view of the war. Actually, it’s not the war, but rather post-war, with the ink still drying on the peace treaties. But things are still far from peaceful. Oh, and this film scored an Oscar nom, though THE SALESMAN took home the statuette last month. With the recent hit animated film, many may think of Denmark as the land of Lego, but for this new film it’s the LAND OF MINE.
It’s May of 1945, Germany has finally surrendered, but Danish Sgt. Carl Rasmussen (Roland Moller) is still in full combat mode. After venting his rage on a group of defeated enemy soldiers, he is given his post-war assignment. He will oversee a group of German prisoners-of-war as they find and disarm several hundred landmines buried in the beach on the West Coast of Denmark (the Axis believed that this would be the locale for the Allied invasion). Incredibly dangerous work, but the sergeant believes they should “clean up the mess they made”. Then when he meets his charges, the grizzled military man is stunned. The fourteen POWs look to be barely over 14, more boys than men. Nonetheless, he escorts them to their ocean front locale, a rundown shack that’s deserted save for a small cottage and farmhouse nearby occupied by a young single mother and her six year-old daughter. Carl and his trusty dog oversee the boys as the carefully poke the sand and clear the beach (luckily they have a crude map of the landmine placement). These boys must carry on this deadly mission while dealing with a lack of food (prisoners are low priority while the locals are hungry). As the days pass, the sergeant gets to know his crew, especially the twins Ernst and Werner (Emil and Oskar Belton), their high-ranking office, the twitchy Helmut (Joel Basman), and their real leader, the compassionate Sebastian (Louis Hofmann). Surprising himself, Carl begins to respect the lads, perhaps they have released his paternal instincts. He soon realizes that the military’s promise to send the boys home once the beach is cleared may not be kept. What can he do? And what will he do?
This largely unknown historical tidbit from over 70 years ago makes for an interesting story, but the talented ensemble are what makes it so compelling. Luckily the story’s main focus is expertly portrayed by the riveting Moller as a very tough but complex soldier. In the powerful opening scene he is truly a Sergeant fury, a “clenched fist” of a man nearly as explosive as any hidden landmine. Rasmussen insists that the age of his charges doesn’t matter, he only sees the uniform of the enemy. We’re not told of his background or family, but we wonder if he’s lost everything and everyone aside from his loyal pooch, the only recipient of his smile. Slowly we see his icy demeanor begin to melt, but not without enormous resistance. Finally he begins to question himself and his superiors, as the fallen foes become human beings in his eyes. One superior, Liuetenant Ebbe played by Mikkel Boe Folsgaard, never has such an epiphany, his humanity almost replaced by his cold dead-eyed stare. The POWs are composed of a group of superb actors, with Hofmann outstanding as the kind, older brother surrogate Sebastian to the group. Eventually he breaks through to the sergeant, even engaging in a sweet, almost father-son discussion of faith. Basman’s character is a bit more complex, as his Helmut is equal parts venal and pathetic, trying to appear tough, while taunting his brothers in arms. Speaking of brothers, The Belton twins as the Lessner sibs have perhaps the most heartbreaking subplot. When tragedy strikes, one of them becomes one of the walking dead, a haunted soul now completely lost. He reminds everyone of their possible gruesome fate.
Writer/director Martin Zanvilet has crafted a remarkable war drama devoid of gun-blazing battles, but just as spellbinding and suspenseful. While we squirm in our seats during the tense defusion sequences , he also gives us a moral quandary to consider. Yes, these soldiers were part of Hitler’s army, but with the war finished, how long must they pay the price for their homeland’s evil? Most look far too young to be part of the Axis forces. Perhaps in those last days any boy who could hold a rifle was scooped up, torn from their families, destined to be “cannon fodder”. As the sergeant says, “As they are dying, they cry for their mammas”. Certainly the Danes suffered, but many became “sore winners”, hoping that the “mine scrubbers” would be erased by their country’s own weapons. This gives an extra heft to the scenes in which the lads outline their unlikely future plans (“I will work in a factory” “I just want to EAT!”). It’s challenging fare for audiences used to just rooting for the “good guys” to triumph over the “bad guys”. LAND OF MINE is a bold statement on the rules of combat and morality that explodes our ideas about “peace time”.
4 out of 5
LAND OF MINE opens everywhere and screens exclusively in the St. Louis area at Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Cinemas
