Land of Mine

Days after Germany s surrender in May 1945, a batch of young German POWs is handed over to Danish authorities and marched to the West Coast. There they are assigned a grim duty: clear the vast mined stretch of shoreline left by the retreating army. With bare hands and makeshift tools they crawl through the sand, dodging hidden blasts as the sea breathes and the wind bites. The task is overseen by a hard, by-the-book Danish sergeant, Sgt. Carl Rasmussen, who embodies a militarized ethic that is as unforgiving as the land itself. Among the prisoners is Sebastian Schumann, a quiet but stubborn presence whose fate becomes entwined with the guards' uneasy code of discipline. Over weeks that feel endless, small acts of resilience flicker, and the dynamic between guard and prisoner grows more complicated than simple authority.

Produced as a Danish German collaboration, Land of Mine was directed by Martin Zandvliet and released in 2015. The film draws on real postwar mine clearing and carries a modest budget of about 5.07 million dollars, with principal photography in Denmark.

Critics noted the film's restrained approach to violence and its stark coastal imagery. Land of Mine sparked conversations about accountability in wartime and the human toll of forced labor on both sides, elevating a little known episode into a broader reflection on mercy, duty, and the fragility of moral codes.

Reviews praised performances and film's focus on power dynamics, moral ambiguity, and cost of obedience. Land of Mine presents a study of men shaped by fear, duty, and pressure to survive, without easy answers and with empathy. It avoids heroics and keeps attention on consequences of choices made in duress.

Box office figures for Land of Mine were not widely reported, with the film finding its audience mainly in festival circuits and arthouse cinemas. Its festival run underscores its place as a sober, challenging war drama that remains a tough but essential watch.