Taking place entirely on beachside farmlands in Denmark, Land of Mine takes a particularly intimate—and visually distinct—approach to war. The fighting may be over, but the film remains a tense and emotionally distressing, with all the pain and violence being carried over onto these German boys being forced to clear the beaches of live explosives with their bare hands. The relationship between these young men and their vengeful Danish commanding officer may progress a little quickly for some, but their volatile bond only emphasizes that rage isn’t meant to be felt forever, and that war is a destructive cycle that eventually needs to come to an end.
"Again and again, its stark and suspenseful compositions strike the eye-figures in dark clothing, prone on a pale beach, with lines of wire, black warning flags, and the chill gray waves beyond."
— Anthony Lane
"A poignant and worthy tribute to a little-known postscript of World War Two."
— Mark Allison
In the days following the surrender of Germany in May 1945, a group of young German prisoners of war is handed over to the Danish authorities and subsequently sent to the West Coast, where they are 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 are forced to perform the dangerous work under the leadership of a Danish sergeant.
Oscars
1 nomination
Nat. Board of Review
1 win
European Film Awards
3 wins
