The Red Meadows (1945)

Directors: Bodil Ipsen, Lau Lauritzen
Writers: Leck Fischer, Ole Juul 
Stars: Poul Reichhardt, Lisbeth Movin, Per Buckhøj
Runtime: 85 minutes

Plot: A 1945 Danish war drama based on resistance fighter Ole Valdemar Juul's 1945 novel of the same name, is a suspense tale revolving around the memories of a Danish saboteur as he awaits his execution in a German war-time prison.

Review: The Red Meadow is an earnest and unpretentious attempt by some Danes to convey the spirit of their underground resistance against the Nazis. Told in flashback from the prison cell where Lans awaits execution, the action involves the group's furtive meetings, their destruction of a munitions plant and their eventual betrayal by an informer. 

The producers have narrowed the over-all scope of "Red Meadows" by limiting the story to one resistance segment and even further by a final concern for the group's leader, a gaunt-faced actor named Poul Reichhardt who knows all he needs to know about his craft, and having him vanish rather inconclusively into the night. 

But if this movie lacks the strength of its parts, Bodil Ipsen knows what to do with them, and so does an excellent cast. The script-writers have supplied some Hemingway dialogue for some wonderfully moving scenes.

But "Red Meadows" is at its best in presenting the ironic, unspoken relationship between the hero and his sympathetic German warder, a magnificently stoical actor named Per Buckhoj, who learns of his own family's destruction, helps the prisoner escape and commits suicide. This is a true classic depicting the hard times of WWII and since shot just a few months after the German Occupation, manages to capture the authenticity beautifully, making this one of the best WWII based movies around.

Reviewed by Intisab Shahriyar