Denmark · 2020
2h 32m
Director Anders Refn
Starring Jesper Christensen, Patricia Schumann, Erik Madsen, Birthe Neumann
Genre Drama, War, History
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Karlskov is a self made, successful owner of a large electronics factory, has a wife and five children. They live the good, privileged upper-class life on Strandvejen north of Copenhagen when the Nazis occupy Denmark in April 1940. Karl struggles to continue production at the factory, but to protect his family and employees he reluctantly begins to produce for the German market. It brings him into a controversial collaboration with the occupying power and causes painful breaks in the family.
Into the Darkness serves as a keen portrait of a deeply divided country, unsure of where its allegiance lies. Heavy-handed and slow-moving at times, further bogged down by extended speeches about the future of Denmark’s economy/industry, this behemoth nevertheless impresses, simply due to the sophistication of it all.
The New York Times by Ben Kenigsberg
While the plot is absorbing, the movie continually has characters voice their motivations, leaving little to subtext.
The Film Stage by Jared Mobarak
The title De forbandede år [Into the Darkness] isn’t therefore solely about Hitler’s shadow absorbing Denmark into its empire. It’s about the insidiousness of white supremacy consuming those who believed themselves immune days earlier.
The Guardian by Leslie Felperin
If you have 152 minutes to sink into this morass of moral complexity and finely observed period detail, then it may well be worth it, although the ending is bizarrely, perplexingly abrupt. Perhaps there will be a follow-up feature.
The Telegraph by Robbie Collin
Refn and Flemming Quist Møller’s screenplay is very good at showing how a destructive belief system such as Nazism can slowly seep through institutions, thanks to nothing more sinister than ordinary people deciding not to rock the boat.
Austin Chronicle by Steve Davis
You’d think this chapter in Danish history would inspire passion in a native filmmaker, but the movie lacks fervency.
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