Land of Mine

This is a fantastic movie that draws you in. You don't need to spectacle to have a phenomenal story and this is a great example. You follow the lives of young men removing land lines after WWII and the story grips you. The movie is filmed on a small set, does not go over the top, but feels incredibly high-quality and is 100% worth the watch.

I haven't seen a movie that hit me this hard since 'Stand By Me' and it's one of the few WW2 films that aren't all "muh evil Germans". These Germans weren't evil, they were just boys conscripted into the war. But since they were "just" boys, no one really gave a shi+ about them and chose to see them as just more evil nazis. Never-mind that most of them were around 9 or 10 when the war started. Anyway the film was great, extremely sad, but great. As mentioned above, it's not another evil Germans ww2 film. The story starts just after Germany surrenders. In Denmark there are over 2 million mines planted on the shore (where Germans were anticipating an invasion) that need cleaned up. Disgustingly, since even boys are seen as disposable, Denmark military chooses to use them to clean up the mines. Some gruesome and sad moments, the scenes that hit me the most are the one's with the brothers and the first boy who sets off a mine. The worst scene is about 30 minutes in. It's also not low budget if anyone is worried about that. Sadly it didn't make nearly as much as it should have so I decided to buy it. Also, all of the one star reviews are raging that it's not in English. Yea...read the description before purchasing maybe? Don't give an excellent film that documents the horrors that many boys face in war, a one star review because you didn't read the description.

This film is based on a true story. After WWII, Denmark kept many German soldiers and did not release them to go home until after they had cleared the minefields they laid in that country. Half of these men were killed in the process. This is a great story, but it's probably not one that most American viewer would choose to watch. If you're a WWII buff, and like "real" history, then you will probably like this film.

WW2 in Europe is over and a group of German soldiers is selected and sent to the Danish coast to find and disarm thousands of landmines placed there during the war. They are despised by their sergeant and the locals who view them, at first, with total contempt. Indeed, conditions at this outpost are dreadful - deliberate starvation, brutal reprisals, sickness that wastes them away and the ever-present threat of death while searching for mines. The situation that faced ethnic Germans after the war is an ethical nightmare. It's hard to feel sympathy for people who supported one of the worst regimes in history. And the victors often felt justified because of what they had suffered. At the same time, the atrocities committed by the freed countries - things like this (based on actual events) - often came terribly close to duplicating what the Nazis did. This film is quite shrewd. It lays bare the behavior of both sides and then steps back. It leaves the interpretation to the viewer. The acting and the writing is exceptional (though I disagree with the ending). The cinematography is beautifully done and the direction is sharp. I highly recommend it. It's simply one of those films you have to see for yourself.

This is the second time I've watched Under Sandet, the alternate title of Land of Mine. It might be my favorite war movie, right up there with Hacksaw Ridge and Dunkirk. Powerfully emotional from the first scene to the cut to black. A unique story in that the focus is on a troop of young German soldiers as our protagonists. I love the emphasis on the innocence of regular soldier boys, who are victims of the evils of war just as everyone else can be. It is in German so you need subtitles, which sometimes makes it a challenge to keep track of the characters, but this adds to the immersive experience. Highly recommend.

There have been countless WWII films through the years and it is always amazing to find a little known aspect of the brutal war. LAND OF MINE tells a heartbreaking and thought provoking story set at the end of World War II in Denmark. After invading Denmark, the Germans planted hundreds of thousands of mines along the Danish coast in anticipation of an Allied invasion that never took place. Denmark was mined more than any other European country. After the war ended, it was decided that German prisoners of war would be forced to removed all of the mines before being allowed to go home. Here is the tragedy of the story and a moral dilemma that has no answer. The Danes were angered and bitter with the Germans. Forcing the Germans to remove the mines might make sense but at a high moral cost. LAND OF MINE tells a fictionalized story of one Danish sergeant supervising a group of young German soldiers in a quest to clear on beach of mines. Most of these soldiers are teenagers who probably had little to do with the brutality of the war and only wanted to go home to their parents and loved ones. The Sergeant is brutal and ruthless until he begins to see the everyday humanity in the soldiers who just want to go home. There is a beauty and sadness to diffusing any one of those mines would be fatal. It's a given that few, if any, of the young soldiers will survive. Although this story is fiction, the facts are real. 70,000 German prisoner of war soldiers removed mines and facts are given as to how many survived and made it home. It's rare to see German WWII soldiers portrayed with compassion and as human beings just wanting to go home. We're seeing a different side of World War II in LAND OF MINE where the defeated German soldiers are now the victims. LAND OF MINE is an amazingly thought-provoking look at other consequences of war.

Just finished watching this movie 5 minutes ago. This movie is astounding. I Thank film makers for telling the over millions of stories that took place during World War 2, that we dont hear to often about, and this is one of them. Was on the edge of my seat the whole time, worried about if a land mind would go off. I especially liked how the Sargent, when we first meet him, he is a hateful, vengeful, dont take crap from nobody type of guy, than we realize, he has a human side to him, and realize these aren't men, they are boys, who in hindsight in the 21st Century realize they were put in that situation, due to their Country and Fathers, and maybe because they were unlucky in being born at the wrong time in History. If you love the meanwhile back at the ranch, type of stories, that tell you the other horrors of the causes of World War 2 , you will love this movie.

This film is about a little known situation of using German POW’s to clear land mines in Denmark. Thinking that the allies may have been planning to invade Europe thru Denmark the German Army planted many mines. The German troops at the end of the war fir this job were little more than children. The acting is outstanding. The cruelties of war are artistically ( if I may use that term) portrayed. This is no ordinary raw raw film nor does it “ take sides” in the blame game, but rather depicts the teenage victims and the Danish sergeant supervising them in realist terms, both being victims of a different sort. As a former veteran I found this film very painful to watch. It is not only heartbreaking but agonizing. While the historical and artistic value of this film is substantial I believe viewers should be advised that it is difficult to watch. Perhaps best viewed early in the day so the feelings can be absorbed and diffused with other experiences. Ronald Turco

Una película basada en hechos reales, trata de una parte de la historia que bastante gente desconoce, la trama resulta interesante de principio a fin. Envió rápido y correcto.

Bellissimo film, ancorche' durissimo.E' un film da vedere per capire la brutalita' della guerra e le sue conseguenze.Tratto da una storia vera, e' un film toccante sulle colpe dei padri che ricadono sui figli.Un gruppo di giovanissimi soldati tedeschi, reclutati negli ultimi mesi della guerra, tra gli studenti ,si ritrovano prigionieri in Danimarca a dover sminare il territorio che i loro padri hanno minato in attesa dell'invasione che non ci fu.Ma la crudelta' e l'odio che i danesi riversano sui giovani tedeschi e' la sola conseguenza delle brutalita' che gli invasori nazisti hanno portato in giro per l'Europa, ancorche' i ragazzi che devono sminare non ne siano colpevoli...LE COLPE DEI PADRI RICADONO SUI FIGLI....purtroppo...a volte..cmq un bellissi mo film ben girato ed interpretato...non essendo una produzione holliwodiana e' passato sottotono nelle sale.

All in Italian including the subtitles -- NO ENGLISH, GERMAN,OR DANISH. View it as a silent film it's ok.

I purchased this on a whim, having only seen the trailer beforehand. Such a great film. Bought this for my dad who is a vet, and he loved it too.

War is hell they say. this my mother used to tell me when I was a little boy about the horrors my granddad would explain to her. who survived it know doubt. this movie really caught me offside so to speak. even though the Germans did some nasty deeds. this Danish Sergeant Major (Roland Moller) was a very angry man when the Germans were leaving. his anger soon subside a little. due to the fact of his job of protecting these kids which is no fault of their own which their comrades did of planting the bombs. but like war all is evolved for everything they do. you fight together you die together an you leave no One behind. after the War 2000 young Germans were left behind to clear the beach of these buried mines. this was a very emotional movie and was hard to watch at times. its like if you slap me I slap you back sort of display. Very VERY Emotional Movie. Love It. Widescreen 2.40:1 German an Danish 5.1 DTS-HD English Sub Runtime 101 Min.