Dorathen
Better Late Then Never
CrawlerChunky
In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.
Janae Milner
Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.
s3276169
During WWII Sweden was in a difficult position. Blockaded by Germany but also sympathetic to the plight of its neighbours in Norway and Finland. This film in a modest way delves into the Sweden's role in the war with a tale of Swedish soldiers crossing the border to recover their people who have been captured on German controlled, Norwegian soil.This is ultimately an action film but it also touches on conflicting attitudes on the part of Swedes towards the war. Some want to stay neutral, others take action against Germany, some even support the Germans as the lesser of two evils; Nazism vs Communism. Beyond the Boarder does a good job of showing the impact of war on Swedish soldiers who, for the most part, have little or no combat experience. It contrasts their initial naive enthusiasm for joining the conflict and their dawning understanding of the harsh realities of war. In most respects this is a decent film, its competently directed, acted and utilizes good sets and backdrops. That said, I did feel, at times, the story was a little disjointed and the character development somewhat limited. Nonetheless, this film is a mostly worthwhile watch and a refreshing departure from the standard fare that comes out of the US/UK. Seven out of ten from me.
OJT
Coming from not only a nation (Norway) which has a lot of heroes connected to the second world war, but also a world re-known town from where some world famous saboteurs came from (Rjukan)h, it's interesting to see a movie from the Swedish side.They were equally young to the Swedes here, those local schoolboys and students which later one became famous as saboteurs. You saw some of them in the films Max Manus and The Heavy Water Sabotage. I personally got to know a couple of them, amongst them Gunnar "Kjakan" Sønstsbø, which was Norways most decorated war heroes, and a main person in the spiderweb of sabotage actions which made the war difficult for the occupiers during the war. And my father very secretly brought food up to saboteurs hiding in the mountains, waiting for the right time to hit. This was so secret that I didn't get to know this until many years after his death, by strangers which knew my dad.Sweden has been a peaceful nation, and their neutrality during the WW2 is well known, but we've heard very little on their war history. This film tells a bit about the nervousness the Swedes felt even though they chose not to take sides during the war. Norway wasn't at all ready to fight against the German war machine, nor where the Danes or most other nation attacked and occupied during the war. Still there sprung heroes out of the war. They started off as young and stupid, but still with some courage and luck, which in some years made them both experienced and later on heroes.This movie shows how naive the Swedes where, when they went from peaceful Sweden into wartime Norway on silly missions. They weren't at all prepared for what they met. Many Nowegian soldiers died the same way, without becoming either known or heroes. This film could as much as being about Swedes have been about Nowegians, or Finns. We get to see the experienced Finn in action here. He had learned how fights were won during the Finnish winter war. Therefore he was better able to deal with the horrors of war.Though this film had some troubles establishing our sympathy for the characters in the first hour, it manages to do so in the last hour, when the severeness has caught both them and us as viewers.This war film is more about the traumas of war than about the war. I found the film fascinating for more tan one reason. I also found he film honest and no extra hero bullshit, just plain true and raw realism. That there's a drama at the end I found refreshing. It was actions like that which made the war hell for Germans in Norway. Impossible to know where and when they would occur, but many felt obliged to do what they could to make it difficult for the occupiers.A review here thought the Germans where cliché fully horrible here, but torture and nastiness was no stranger to the occupiers. This was how they got to know about hideouts and saboteurs. This was a very real war.A good movie, which could have had a better start than it did.
Mats
You can tell that Sweden has not been at war for 200+ years. All the Swedish soldiers are wimps that have to show how scared they are at all times. It gets rather tedious. The only real hero is a Finnish origin soldier that had killed 100+ Russians. He is the only old-fashioned hero. All the Germans seem to be sadists. Another cliché. In contrast, we have the Swedish soldiers discussing about Hitler's plan for the Jews. Come on; some countryside 18 year olds in 1942 talking about the Jews? Not realistic. That so much playing to a modern audience as opposed to remaining somewhat authentic. The film also plays to a modern audience by having a soldier pet his pregnant girlfriend's tummy. Sweden is a small country so it is important to get the female audience as well.I would not recommend this film. Instead watch the Danish Flame And Citron or the Norwegian Max Manus. These countries where attacked during WW2 and their soldiers show a much more aggressive demeanor. Their heroes are allowed to be good. They have meaningful tasks to accomplish. These two films has a strong narrative that pushes the films forward. The Swedish film pretty much lacks a narrative, except a big rather meaningless shoot-out in the end of the film (another conventional trick). I get the feeling that the director wants to show the horrors of war. The Swedes had a chance to make a traditional action movie, but blew it totally.
Enchorde
It's rare to see a serious Swedish war movie, in part due to the lack modern time battles involving the country. In the second world war the country was officially neutral cornered by conflict on all sides. This movie is about a few Swedish soldiers protecting the border against Nazi occupied Norway. A local major decides to be a bit proactive before the, as he sees it, the inevitable German invasion and sends his border patrol in to Norwegian territory for recognizance and sabotage. The major's main guy is lieutenant Stenström who performs well. But when Stenström's brother carelessly crosses the border and gets captured by the sadistic Nazi captain, it gets personal. Stenström recruits his friend Järvinen, a veteran and legend from the Finnish Winter War, and goes deep into enemy territory to free his brother.I rarely like Swedish movies. Mainly it is because they always seem to aim at being everything, covering every genre, and doing too much with limited resources. But Gränsen is different. It is satisfied with being a war movie, and for its purpose, the resources is covering it well. Actually I am surprised with the approach to action and fighting. It is far too easy to overdo it, but Gränsen balances it very nice (even though there are some questions). There is no humongous battles, or Rambo-like gun fights, but it feels much more realistic and plausible with fighting on a much smaller scale.The story is good as well, even though at two hours it is stretching the material pretty thin. Some scenes or subplots that aren't followed up later, or helps the main plot much, should have been cut. Some of the dialog is a little stiff and a few characters a little annoying. None the less, I liked it. Every movie (with extremely rare exceptions) have faults, and Gränsens' is rather minor. They are easy to forgive.Gränsen is a good, entertaining war movie. It was much better than I expected, especially considering the lack of experience doing movies like this in Sweden. If you like a good war movie, you might want to check this out.7/10
