Pacionsbo Absolutely Fantastic

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Sharkflei Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

Freeman This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Tweekums This Danish drama opens in the present day as troubled teenager Claudia is forced to visit Severin; an elderly baron; while there she reads to him the diaries of his grandmother Inge who lived through the tumultuous events of the mid-nineteenth century. In the aftermath of 1st Schleswig War spirits are high in Denmark; they were victorious and life seems idyllic; however there are dark clouds on the horizon; Lutheran minister Monrad sees the victory as a sign that the Danes are Gods chosen people and after entering politics intends to integrate the Duchy of Schleswig into Denmark against the will of its German speaking population and likely to lead to another war against the Prussians. In the run up to this impending war we are introduced to some of those it will effect; most notably Inge and two brothers who both love her, Peter and Laust Jensen; the son on the current baron Didrich and returned soldier Johan. As the story progresses we observes these characters and those around them as relationships develop and change and ultimately they head to a disastrous war that not all of them will survive.Before watching this series I confess I hadn't heard of the 2nd Schleswig War so can't really comment on how accurately the events were portrayed; I can however say as a piece of drama it was gripping if occasionally difficult viewing. The episodes before the war starts serve to introduce the protagonists and the politics of the time and by the time the first shot is fired we know full well who the heroes and villains are. The battle scenes, which are possibly the best I've seen in a television production, are dramatic in a way that is gruelling rather than exciting… war is a filthy, bloody business. The cast do a fine job; surprisingly it is the villains who stand out most; Nicolas Bro and Pilou Asbæk are great as Monrad and Didrich two of the least sympathetic characters imaginable; the former a religious zealot whose views wouldn't have been out of place in Nazi Germany and the latter who is a coward and a rapist. That isn't to say the rest of the cast aren't fine too; Marie Tourell Søderberg, as Inge, Jens Sætter-Lassen as Peter, Jakob Oftebro as Laust and Søren Malling as Johan. Some reviewers have been critical of the dialogue but not speaking Danish and relying on the subtitles I didn't notice this myself. Overall I'd recommend this to anybody looking for a historical drama with fairly deep themes; just be warned some of the content will offend some viewers.

mygibbo Some of the negative criticism of the series is wide of the mark. The series had me hooked right from the outset. It is lyrical, well-paced story-telling, focussing on character and ideas. There are no caricatures here. The political ideas are played out through the interactions of an excellent ensemble cast, including most of the faces we have come to love in Nordic Noir. The split time sequence shows how the past influences and shapes the present and how people here and now can learn from their past. There is a joy and élan about the epic's opening which prepares us for the shock and disillusion of war. I have only seen two episodes so far, but it has me hooked. Viva Scandinavia.

stenfisker The bad stuff:1. Horrible dialog ! The entire host of characters seem like caricatures. 2. Boring side story. The recurring flash forward to 2014 is completely irrelevant and adds nothing to the production - a waste of time. 3. Worst manuscript ever - to spice up a rather generic main plot, a number of "weird" events occur: "soldier hypnotizes enemies to escape capture", "same soldier saves main protagonist's life by pulling out a piece of ice directly from protagonist's heart (with his bare hands) and then feeding it to him", "dumb girl suddenly regains speech, but has nothing to say" etc etc... 4. And finally - the director seems hellbent on proving his point of view: that war is a horrible thing and humans sometimes do bad things. This ambition is presented to the viewer in an extremely condescending manner. In other words, this could be all well and good if the production was aimed at children who are unfamiliar with these concepts, but of course it is not.The good stuff: Beautiful scenery, fantastic battle sequences and a pretty good soundtrack are the 3 only positive things I can mention about this production. This is why I give the production a "2"....

Poul Nielsen This movie has been one of the most expected series in Danish television ever. And there are very different opinions about it. Let me try to mention the components that makes this a series you wont forget so easily, and why I think it is a masterpiece. The photography is brilliant, the costumes and makeup are great and the set is amazing. And the music score by Marco Beltrami is over the top. The actors are excellent, both the children, and the rest of the cast. The series is built up, not with a story that end with a climax in each part of the series, but as a long movie, and this is hard for some viewers to understand. For dramatic reasons some incidents and persons are not totally described as they were historically. But the story certainly hit you emotionally. The scenes from the battle is comparable to Omaha Beach in "saving Private Ryan". Think also "Barry Lyndon" and "1900" and you will have some hint on what it is all about. I loved it, and i am curious how Ole Bornedal will cut the series into a Cinema movie.