I was way too harsh when I watched this the first time. I rewatched this, expecting nothing of it since I already had written it off, but this time I got sucked into the narrative and the story. I understood what it wanted to do more this time. It´s not a big war movie but a real and intimate one. The characters felt lackluster the first time I watched it but that's just how the life of a soldier is viewed in this movie. It´s a good and solid war story.
During World War 2, the Danish border is breached by German troops. A Danish bicycle patrol dose their best to defend their country in an impossible attempt.
The standout performance in this movie is Pilou Asbæk as the leader of the patrol we follow. He gives this understated performance where his face carries the role a lot, and as the movie goes on he becomes more and more emotional. The acting from the rest of the cast is sadly hit or miss. One of the young solider does a really good job, while some has some weak delivery. The same can be said about the commanders. In general the acting is fine, but now and again there were some iffy performances.
The camera is also a bit off sometimes. For the most part the handheld style works in a war scenario, but when the characters are just standing still and the camera is handheld it gives of this seasick vibe that is very distracting, and the movie is primarily shot in handheld. Especially in the beginning of the movie a standstill camera would do wonders.
The same can be said about the editing which I noticed. Sometimes it was just too fast or cut to unlogical frames. In general, it´s not that noticeable but a rule of thumb is never to make the audience notice your editing unless you want them to, as it can take you out of the movie.
The movie is nothing special, but I think it didn't try to be. It´s this small-scale war drama with bikes and wooden barricades and not planes and tanks. It ends up being a movement from location to location and not much more, but I was engaged throughout the movie and in the end I was scared for every soldiers life and I cringed every time a close shot was happening.
The characters are as mentioned not really here. They are surfaced leveled soldiers and that's it. It fits this movie well as it´s not really about a person but more the feeling that most have happened that day of the invasion. It´s surreal to think Denmark send bikes to fight armored vehicles, and that's the story this movie wants to tell. Sadly the movie can become a bit too written with them expanding characters and you can smell why a mile away. It´s just not needed in my opinion.
At the end of the movie there are a small part of a longer interview with soldiers of the time. It´s a bit out of place in my opinion and adds absolutely nothing.
So I still want to recognize why I probably didn't like this movie the first time I watched it. It´s far from flawless and has some tendencies I don't like. But I got sucked into the conflict and situation this time. It´s a different more intimate war movie where all hope seems lost without any way to safe anything and the movies runtime is perfect for the intimate movie.
During World War 2, the Danish border is breached by German troops. A Danish bicycle patrol dose their best to defend their country in an impossible attempt.
The standout performance in this movie is Pilou Asbæk as the leader of the patrol we follow. He gives this understated performance where his face carries the role a lot, and as the movie goes on he becomes more and more emotional. The acting from the rest of the cast is sadly hit or miss. One of the young solider does a really good job, while some has some weak delivery. The same can be said about the commanders. In general the acting is fine, but now and again there were some iffy performances.
The camera is also a bit off sometimes. For the most part the handheld style works in a war scenario, but when the characters are just standing still and the camera is handheld it gives of this seasick vibe that is very distracting, and the movie is primarily shot in handheld. Especially in the beginning of the movie a standstill camera would do wonders.
The same can be said about the editing which I noticed. Sometimes it was just too fast or cut to unlogical frames. In general, it´s not that noticeable but a rule of thumb is never to make the audience notice your editing unless you want them to, as it can take you out of the movie.
The movie is nothing special, but I think it didn't try to be. It´s this small-scale war drama with bikes and wooden barricades and not planes and tanks. It ends up being a movement from location to location and not much more, but I was engaged throughout the movie and in the end I was scared for every soldiers life and I cringed every time a close shot was happening.
The characters are as mentioned not really here. They are surfaced leveled soldiers and that's it. It fits this movie well as it´s not really about a person but more the feeling that most have happened that day of the invasion. It´s surreal to think Denmark send bikes to fight armored vehicles, and that's the story this movie wants to tell. Sadly the movie can become a bit too written with them expanding characters and you can smell why a mile away. It´s just not needed in my opinion.
At the end of the movie there are a small part of a longer interview with soldiers of the time. It´s a bit out of place in my opinion and adds absolutely nothing.
So I still want to recognize why I probably didn't like this movie the first time I watched it. It´s far from flawless and has some tendencies I don't like. But I got sucked into the conflict and situation this time. It´s a different more intimate war movie where all hope seems lost without any way to safe anything and the movies runtime is perfect for the intimate movie.