Land of Mine movie review

The other day I went to see Land of Mine the media preview movie for the Volvo Scandinavian Film Festival. I’m not mad keen on war movies so I wasn’t sure about this one but armed with a chocolate bomb I was prepared for the worst.

I’m so pleased I went. Land of Mine is a movie that’s going to stay with me for a very long time and no wonder given the many awards it’s won. The movie is set in Denmark, May 1945 after Nazi Germany has surrendered. A group of 14 young teenage German prisoners are tasked with staying behind to clear the beach of all the mines the Germans had planted.

Under the uncompromising eye of Danish sergeant, Rasmussen (Roland Møller) the boys learn how to detect and deactivate the mines, before being shut up in a dormitory over night so they can’t escape. Day after day we watch them inch their way across the sand. When the unthinkable happens, more than once, Rasmussen begins to question his actions.

It’s impossible to take your eyes off the action for a moment, as you watch the young men fight against all their natural instincts. The images are made even more powerful knowing that the movie is based on a true story of young men clearing around one million mines.

The acting is absolutely superb. While Moller plays both good and bad cop convincingly, the boys were equally believable. When the film ended the majority of the audience sat in their seats, numb from the story they’d just seen. Don’t worry if you’re squeamish the action is cleverly filmed, think Hitchcock suspense rather than Tarantino bloodshed. Make sure you get to see this one.

The festival includes another 21 movies from Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Iceland. Two other films of interest are Welcome to Norway and The Fencer.

Welcome to Norway is the opening night  movie on Thursday 21st. It is described as a dark comedy about a hotel owner who decides to turn his half-built alpine hotel into a state-funded refugee asylum reception centre. The night includes delicious smørrebrød from Miss Maud’s and beverages from  Cake wines along with Scandi pop  from DJ Harvey Rae. Watch the trailer online

Another film of interest is The Fencer. The story based on the life of legendary fencer Endel Nelis who hid from Stalin’s secret police in a remote Estonian village, trying to keep a low profile as the local school’s sports instructor. Finland Today named it “the best Finnish film in a decade”. The screening will feature a performance from the ECU Cavalier School of Fencing.

The festival runs from July 21 to August 3 at  Luna Palace Cinemas.