As a bit of a film nerd, I find war movies are generally love-it-or-hate-it propositions. The great ones stay with you and provide valuable insight, but the remainder I could frankly live without. Many try to (literally and figuratively) “blast” you out of your seat with pyrotechnics or gore (I’m looking at you, Mel Gibson); but a rare example of the genre is the quietly observed war movie. And few of those are as powerful or as intense as Martin Zandvliet’s finely constructed Land of Mine.
Based on real events, the film follows a hard-nosed Danish NCO as he tries to carry out the hazardous task of clearing mines from Denmark’s beaches just after the end of World War II. If the nature of the mission weren’t daunting enough, the only resource allocated to complete the dangerous work is a squad of teenage German POWs. The film reflects on the nature twin notions of of hatred and camaraderie inherent in war; as well as having a contemporary relevance given the vast numbers of land mines deployed in current and former conflict zones around the globe.
The film opens just after the surrender of Nazi Germany. Denmark has been liberated, but there is a lot of work to do. Sgt Carl Rasmussen (Roland Møller) is allocated the job of clearing land mines planted in their thousands on the country’s west coast as a German defence against a possible Allied invasion, which never came. He’s no friend of the Germans, and takes out his frustration and anger on a captive German soldier in an early scene. The mines have to be cleared by hand and for that task, Rasmussen is assigned a rag-tag bunch of German POWs. The thing is, while they were (conscripted) German soldiers, they’re mostly still teenagers. Rasmussen has to first train these boys for the risky work, then figure out a way to get them to cooperate with each other and with him to get the job done. He approaches his superior, Lt Jensen (Mikkel Boe Følsgaard), and receives an assurance that once the beach is cleared, the POWs can return to Germany. With that assurance in hand, he starts to build a small degree of trust with the POWs; but inevitably the highly dangerous job leads to horrific casualties amongst them.
Zandvliet cleverly upends the “Allies good, Germans bad” scenario common in movies of this ilk . In the process he deftly makes the point that sometimes decent – even innocent – people can be caught up in something far bigger; often with tragic consequences. Although he occasionally resorts to some rather heavy-handed material (notably toward to the end of the film), Zandvliet (working from his own script) keeps things mostly clear-eyed. For example, even as it becomes apparent to Rasmussen that he’s engaged in something perilously close to what he fought against, his dedication to his mission remains paramount.
As I mentioned, this is a film that’s quietly observed. It moves relatively slowly; but the tension that Zandvliet creates is palpable throughout. The film’s big moments are all handled in a restrained, almost realist, way. The emotion is largely kept bubbling under the surface; I suspect chiefly because all the characters understand that outbursts could be deadly.
As the prickly but principled Rasmussen, Roland Møller basically has to carry the film. He is both the protagonist and catalyst for much of the action. The role is pretty much an actor’s dream, with character required to “grow” considerably as the film progresses. It’s something Møller delivers on fully. He’s ably assisted by the young actors who make up his squad in the film, particularly Louis Hofmann as the sympathetic Schumann.
Even though it may lack battle scenes, over-the-top heroics and simplistic characters, Land of Mine is one of the best war movies of recent years. Like all the best movies – whether in that genre or not – it will make you think.
Director: Martin Zandvliet
Cast: Joel Basman, Roland Møller, Louis Hofmann
Release Date: 30 March 2017
Rating: MA 15+
David Edwards
David Edwards is the editor of The Blurb and a contributor on film and television
