Beyond The Border [DVD]

This film is set in December of 1942; it is about the border guards of Sweden who are on tenterhooks fearing an invasion from German occupied Norway. Their commanding officer is Lieutenant Aron Stenstrom - he is played by Andre Sjoberg, who actually is one of the writers too.

He has his brother allocated to his command and puts him on checkpoint 83. His brother Sven (Martin Wallstrom) and one of his new mates decide to go and have a look at the enemy across the border. Meanwhile his brother is doing secret raids for his Commanding Officer, which includes mining all bridges that lead from Norway. He is asked to go on a reconnaissance mission to see if the Germans are going to invade - which upsets his pregnant wife who had wanted to be made an honest woman of that Saturday. He then finds out what has befallen his brother and has to go and get him.

Meanwhile you guessed it, Sven and mate get caught by the Nazi's who are led by an evil bespectacled Captain Keller, who is a bit of a bully who also likes to indulge in gratuitous torture. Aron enlists the help of a veteran of the Finnish Winter War and off they go to find their missing comrades.

This is a good film but is far from being excellent, it is 116 minutes long and I felt it could have benefitted from some strenuous editing as some of the scenes act to slow the drama and not build on it. The acting though is excellent throughout, it is the script that causes the problems, with more coincidences than even Dickens could have got away with. There are also more than one or two holes in the plot, if the plot were a pair of tights in fact; they would be fish nets, if you get my drift. There are some edge of seat scenes which really carry the story, it is just one coincidence too many at the end that sort of took the shine off what would have otherwise been a really good film.

This is Swedish with good sub titles and a smattering of German, and a word on the cover, unless I blinked and missed it there are no tanks in this production and the only plane involved isn't exactly doing battle, so not as much action as the cover would have us think - there is enough to hold your attention though. On the whole though, not a bad effort and very nearly four stars, but in the end I have opted for three, I would however happily see any future offering from Mr Sjoberg and Richard Holm who directed this.

Very unusual war film set on the border between neutral Sweden and nazi-occupied Norway in the winter of 1942. Two Swedish Army officers, a Major and a Lieutenant, carry out unauthorized night-time sabotage and espionage raids into Norway. By co-incidence, the Lieutenant's brother, a Private, is posted to the border and with another Private crosses the border one night out of pure curiosity, to see what it's like on the other side. They encounter a German patrol, one is killed and the Lieutenant's brother captured. The Lieutenant now he sets out to find and rescue his brother along with three other soldiers. One of them is a Finn, a hardened veteran of the Winter War. Then begins an action-filled adventure that will keep you at the edge of your seat for the rest of the film. Very authentic and well acted, there is hardly a dull moment. If you have an interest in war films, don't miss this one.

As per the norm with all my reviews i will let you the consumer know what is on the disc.There are no real discernable features to be had.There is a trailer,scene selections and a set-up menu which enables you to watch in either 2.0 Stereo or 5.1 Surround Sound.Rather disappointing really as i would have liked to know more about this film through a making of extra or something to the equivalent.This is a Swedish language film with English subtitles,again there is no dubbed version to choose from.With a runtime of 99 mins there does seem to be some of the original film edited out as IMDB states the runtime at around two hours.
With the Swedes remaining neutral throughout WWII i was curious as to how this film would turn out.I can't remember having seen any other war films by the Swedes with the exception of the two films about Raoul Wallenberg i own.I dont think these two are made by Swedes either they are just about Swedes.I can safely say that it deserves to be up there with other Scandinavian war films likeMax Manus [DVD],Flame And Citron [DVD] [2008],Ambush [DVD],The Winter War [DVD] and Winter In Wartime [DVD] [2008](i apologise if i missed any).
Beyond the Border or Gransen is the first in a trilogy of Swedish WWII films and is set on the Swedish/Norwegian border(as the title suggests).The opening scene starts with two Swedish officers performing a clandestine mission inside Nazi occupied Norwegian territory.Upon their return one of the Swedish officers(Aron) meets with his also serving younger brother(Sven)whom he is to give orders to.Sven is assigned to a new squad and is ordered to man a roadblock on the border of Sweden/Norway.Whilst Sven is meeting his squad the film switches back Aron who is receiving his orders,which is to infiltrate deep into Norway and obtain any and all information he can on the German troop movements.Although the Swedes are neutral they suspect an imminent German invasion and given the Germans habit of rolling into European countries you cant blame them.He is ordered to go alone but ignores this and enlists a friends help who also happens to be a veteran of the gruelling Winter war.
The film then switches back to the Sven who decides to cross the border whilst his squad sleeps and see for his own eyes whats happening over there.One of his squad wakes and decides to tag along with him and from here on things take a decided turn for the worse as they bump into a German squad and come under fire.One is killed and the Sven is captured.When the Aron learns of his brothers capture he sets out with his friend and the rest of Svens squad on a rescue mission.Deep inside Norway the rescue squad also come under fire and are rescued themselves by a mysterious lone stranger(Egil)who informs them where Sven is being held.This sets the film up nicely for the finale as Aron and his squad attempt to rescue Sven from his captors.
An unusual take on WWII which i thorougly enjoyed.All the weapons and the uniforms look spot on as does the scenery(no fake snow here).The older brother played by Andre Sjoberg does a great job of the producing,acting and the screenplay.All the actors do a more than credible job and the direction is sharp.There are a couple of cliches like the stereotypical Nazi officer but it doesn't detract from the film.I particularly liked the depiction of the scared soldier who naively walks straight up to a German patrol and simply asks have you seen/got Sven.Some people may think this wouldn't really happen but i beg to differ.Overall this is a film that will not disappoint and i am looking forward to the next two films if they get a UK release.