SHOULD I READ IT? April 9th (2015)

 

                    Imagine being a country that wants to enter the WWII war movie genre.  There have been hundreds of movies made set in the war.  Countries like the United States, Great Britain, and Russia have made dozens just by themselves.  Pity poor Denmark.  It’s experience in WWII consisted of a one day war and then a five year occupation.  The occupation is fodder for resistance movies, but a combat movie?    Director Ron Ezra decided to take on the task of chronicling the Danish combat experience.  He managed to bring the film in at less length than the war.  At 90 minutes, it lasts one fourth of the actual war.                  

                    An opening title card informs us that the Danish army was overmatched against the Wehrmacht.  You think?  Anyone hoping for a happy ending needs to go back to history class.  We are informed that the heaviest fighting occurred in South Jutland, which is where the movie is set.  Historically speaking, “heaviest” is a relative term, but the movie will attempt to take the irony out of it.  The plot follows a bicycle platoon that is tasked with stopping the invaders.  Before you laugh at this seeming siliiness,  be aware that the movie is based on fact and bicycle units were fairly common in WWII.  The Japanese used them effectively in the conquest of Singapore.  However, at no time were they successful against tanks. 

                    The movie opens on April 8.  Although the Germans have been massing on the border and have shown their belligerence clearly in Czechoslovakia and Poland, the Danish government hesitates to mobilize because it does not want to provoke the Nazis!  When the wolf pounces, the sheep finally get moving.  2^nd Lieutenant Sand’s (Pilou Asbaek) bicycle platoon is sent to the border to stop the German offensive, wait for reinforcements, and then push the Germans back.  (The very same orders the Polish cavalry got!)  Not to worry, they are coupled with a motorcycle unit.  No, this is not a comedy.  Can you guess what is going to happen?  Did your guess involve a lot of running (bicycling) away?   Eventually, they make a stand in a city.

                    I know I’m going to sound like an ugly American with all our WWII movies with all their battles and stuff, but this movie did not make me a fan of Danish war movies.  I do give credit for the patriotic balls it took to make a movie about your country’s six hour trouncing.  And I appreciate not exaggerating the bloodshed (although I think foreign war movie lovers might have enjoyed a little historical license).  The Danish army lost 16 dead in the entire war.  It’s kind of hard to make combat porn out of that.  The movie did well in Denmark so I have to assume the Danish are content with miniscule moral victories.  It’s not like the movie is cynical and tragic.  It actually is an homage to the soldiers.  I can’t imagine any living veterans were thrilled with it.  The admirable realism of their actions that day tends to emphasize they did little.  Not their fault, of course.  You know the old “bring a knife to a gunfight” axiom.  Only in this case, it’s bring a bike to a tank fight.  The combat scenes are well-done, but that pesky realism blunts any edge of the seat reaction.  The closing street fighting is fine, but limited for reasons that historians will vet, but viewers will vex. 

                    Given the commitment to sticking to the facts when it came to combat, the movie would have been wise to concentrate on the men.  Yet, there is little character development.  The dialogue is pedestrian and the acting is lukewarm.  At least it avoids small-unit cliches.  No one is from Brooklyn. Although it sets up a “who will survive?” scenario, don’t bother with the tissues.  One cliché that must have been put in for a laugh is a take-off on the old “assemble your weapon in record time, maggot” trope.  Only, in this case, they have to fix a tire.  Comedy gold. 

                    I had heard good things about this movie.  They were wrong.  If I were Danish, I would be embarrassed by it.  I would not want to be reminded about my nation’s performance on April 9, 1940.  

GRADE  =  D