He may not deliver in the subtlest of terms, but the end result is an admirable chronicle of history and a convincing war drama. Clearly, Zandvliet has something to say about the destructive nature of war, upon both the Danish landscape and the human soul. A characteristic sequence features a German prisoner rescuing a Danish child from an active minefield, and this represents just one moment in which the film shifts into excessively sentimentalised overtones. Denmarks entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2017 Academy Awards, Martin Zandvliets powerful, compassionate historical drama Land of Mine revisits. These muted visuals are supported, and often elevated, by a wonderfully melancholic score from Sune Martin, which manages to mould a commendably dispiriting atmosphere.ĭespite its achievements, Land of Mine is not without narrative pitfalls. This plaintive subject matter is buttressed by cinematographer Camilla Hjelm Knudsen, who lends the image a cold and brutally realistic impression. However, the emotional substance of the film is primarily found within the contradictory relationship that develops between the German POWs and their fierce Danish commandant, Sgt. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Land of Mine deals liberally in sequences of beachside mine-clearing, which are consistently tense and occasionally horrifying.

The resulting drama is admittedly predictable and the tone often slips into dissonant melodrama, but the events are nevertheless rooted in a compelling study of individual survival amid government-orchestrated tragedy.

For more on marking an answer as the 'Best Answer', please visit our FAQ. Once a best answer has been selected, it will be shown here. Indeed, politics is largely ignored in favour of a closer examination of comradeship and personal tragedy. No best answer has yet been selected by malagabob. A roll call of young German actors gives a strong impression that the prisoners are little more than confused and homesick boys. Land of Mine looks at a broad historical event through eyes of a few wholly rounded characters, and to this end the film is superbly cast. Despite having an inherently fascinating subject, Land of Mine, Denmark’s entry for Best Foreign Language Film at this year’s Oscars, plays more like a dry history lesson instead of a movie.

Land of mine film