Oscar-nominated for Best Foreign Language Film. “Written and directed by Martin Zandvliet, Land of Mine takes place just after World War II. And a key part of its plot involves not hardened combat veterans but young teenage boys, kids really, some no older than 15.
“These were members of the Volkssturm, a German national militia created late in the war when able bodies were scarce. Caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, these youngsters were made prisoners of war in Denmark, eventually tasked with defusing land mines, post-war.
“These boys are part of a group of 10 or so who are responsible for an area where 45,000 land mines have been planted just underneath the surface. Once they find and defuse every last one of them, the sergeant promises while verbally terrorizing them like the drillmaster from hell, they can go home.
“Crisply and efficiently put together by writer-director Zandvliet, Land of Mine has the inherent edge-of-your-seat concern about what kind of damage the bombs will inflict on which of these boys, but it is the psychological qualities of the situation that hold the greatest interest.” - The LA Times
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