Land of Mine
| Land of Mine | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Under sandet | |
| Directed by | Martin Zandvliet |
| Produced by |
Malte Grunert Mikael Chr. Rieks |
| Written by | Martin Zandvliet |
| Screenplay by | Martin Zandvliet |
| Starring |
Roland Møller Mikkel Følsgaard |
| Music by | Sune Martin |
| Cinematography | Camilla Hjelm Knudsen |
| Edited by |
Per Sandholt Molly Malene Stensgaard |
| Distributed by | Nordisk Film |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 100 minutes |
| Country |
Denmark Germany |
| Language |
Danish German |
| Budget | 35.5 million DKK[1] |
| Box office | $2.2 million[2] |
Land of Mine (Danish: Under sandet) is a 2015 Danish-German historical drama film directed by Martin Zandvliet. It was shown in the Platform section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival.[3] It was selected as the Danish submission for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards.[4][5]
The film is inspired by real events and tells the story of German POWs sent to clear mines in Denmark after World War II. It is believed that more than 2,000 German soldiers were forced to remove mines, and nearly half of them lost their lives or limbs.[6]
Plot
In the days following the surrender of Germany in May 1945 a group of young German prisoners of war was handed over to the Danish authorities and subsequently sent out to the West Coast, where they were ordered to remove the more than two million mines that the Germans had placed in the sand along the coast. With their bare hands, crawling around in the sand, the boys were forced to perform the dangerous work under the leadership of the Danish sergeant, Carl Leopold Rasmussen (Roland Møller).
Cast
- Roland Møller as Sgt. Carl Leopold Rasmussen
- Mikkel Følsgaard as Lt. Ebbe
- Laura Bro as Karin
- Louis Hofmann as Sebastian Schumann
- Joel Basman as Helmut Morbach
- Oskar Bökelmann as Ludwig Haffke
- Emil Belton as Ernst Lessner
- Oskar Belton as Werner Lessner
- Leon Seidel as Wilhelm Hahn
- Karl Alexander Seider as Manfred
- Maximilian Beck as August Kluger
- August Carter as Rodolf Selke
- Tim Bülow as Hermann Marklein
- Alexander Rasch as Friedrich Schnurr
- Julius Kochinke as Johann Wolff
Production
Filming began in July 2014 and ended in August 2014. The film was shot at historically authentic locations, including in Oksbøllejren and areas in Varde.
Reception
Land of Mine received very positive critical acclaim. It received a standing ovation at the Toronto Film Festival,[7] with Stephen Farber of The Hollywood Reporter stating "Director Martin Zandvliet has come up with a fresh and compelling approach to this well-traveled territory"[8] and David D'Arcy of the Screendaily stating "Land of Mine achieves moments of chilling suspense in scenes of untrained soldiers defusing mines by hand and in the bloody bodies that leap into the air when the boys fail".[9] Domestically it received 5 out of 6 stars from a number of critics, who all stated it was the best Danish film of the year.[10][11][12][13] It was furthermore selected to play at Sundance in 2016.[14][15]
It has won numerous awards, including Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor and Best Danish Film at the Bodil Awards.[16]
See also
- List of submissions to the 89th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of Danish submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
References
- ↑ "Nordisk Film & TV Fond Jumps On Zandvliet's Land of Mine". Retrieved 9 November 2015.
- ↑ "Under sandet (Land of Mine)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
- ↑ "Toronto International Film Festival Announces Inaugural Platform Lineup". IndieWire. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
- ↑ "War film submitted as Denmark's Oscar entry". CPH Post. 19 September 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
- ↑ Roxborough, Scott (19 September 2016). "Oscars: Denmark Selects 'Land of Mine' for Foreign-Language Category". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
- ↑ "UNDER SANDET - NY FILM AF MARTIN ZANDVLIET" (in Danish). Retrieved 9 November 2015.
- ↑ Monggaard, Christian. "Giant Canadian Hug" (in Danish). Retrieved 11 December 2015.
- ↑ Farber, Stephen. "'Land of Mine': TIFF Review". The Hollywood Review. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
- ↑ D'Arcy, David. "'Land Of Mine': Review". ScreenDaily (in Danish). Retrieved 11 December 2015.
- ↑ "Review: Land of Mine" (in Danish). Retrieved 11 December 2015.
- ↑ Olsen, Jesper. "Review" (in Danish). Retrieved 11 December 2015.
- ↑ Carlsen, Per Juul. "A Kick in the Head for National Feeling" (in Danish). Retrieved 11 December 2015.
- ↑ Kastrup, Kim. "Land of Mine is Number 1" (in Danish). Retrieved 11 December 2015.
- ↑ "SUNDANCE INSTITUTE COMPLETES FEATURE FILM LINEUP FOR 2016 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL". Sundance. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
- ↑ "LAND OF MINE HEADING TO SUNDANCE". Retrieved 11 December 2015.
- ↑ /ritzau/. "Bodil Party: Post war drama wins big". b.dk (in Danish). Berlinske. Retrieved 7 March 2016.