Skyggen i mit øje (2021) User Reviews

Brutal indeed

[Movi3DO · 8/10 · 13 March 2022]

Do you think God has dropped a pencil?

Yes I think so.

Do you think it will last a long time?

Perhaps. I don't know.

Are we going to heaven?

Yes, we all are.

Is Jesus then waiting for us?

Yes, he is. I'm sure he is.

A Danish historical depiction of an accident during the bombing from the Rapid Air Force against the Gustapo police office in Denmark.

That's really all you need to know. The synopsis really spoiled this movie, as what the synopsis describes took away the shell-shock factor that could make this movie a lot more impactful.

Starting off I had the day that the first half was too long and included couple scenes that I don't think did anything to the story. They created some side-plots that didn't go anywhere.

Still, when the shock hit it was brutal and tragic. The chaos was fairly well-done. Man that last shot of this movie delivered a monumental impact that spoke volumes to the side-effects of war. Stories like this usually got thrown under the bus, but collateral damage from war and bombing is very serious.

Doubting God is a common theme in movies about tragedies. However, this movie brought up a thought process that showed how God might be distracted. It was an eye-opening thought that I never heard off, and it made me wonder.

Overall, it's a solid retelling of a tragic event. 7.5-8/10.

A worthy watch

[Finalreminder · 8/10 · 19 March 2022]

As a cold hearted SOB it's extremely rare to find a film that hits me in the feels, but this one certainly did. Well written and executed and fantastic child actors. This is up there with some of the best war films in my opinion.

One of the saddest tales WW2

[peterrichboy · 8/10 · 14 March 2022]

I've never really understood the term friendly fire, it's a term used in the war time when a Allied troops or planes accidentally kills or Injures troops or civilians of an allied country. There really is nothing friendly about this especially when it came to the 86 children killed during the bombing raid on the Copenhagen Gestapo offices in 1945. You can't help but feel this was something that should never have happened with experienced crew as the war reached its conclusion, especially as it was a daytime raid.

I was aware of the story but as it brought to life in this heartbreaking film really brings home the true pointlessness of war. Have we learnt from this? I write this piece whilst the current war is taking place in the Ukraine and hundreds of civilians are being murdered by Russian cruise missiles. This mission whilst achieving its main objective of destroying the Gestapo headquarters the deaths of those innocent children make it one of the lowest points in the history of the RAF.

Perfect timing. Tragic true story.

[Horror_Flick_Fanatic · 7/10 · 16 March 2022]

As another reviewer mention, I too feel the release of this film right now is perfect timing in lieu of the current events happening right now in Ukraine. How history repeats itself is insane.

The cinematography and special effects of this film are phenomenal. I was really impressed with the fly overs. The last scene when Eva's mother in the red sweater is running through the streets to get home and find Eva was really well done. She runs several blocks without the camera cutting away once. It was done all in one take until she reaches the house. I didn't expect such quality from a small film. It's also very tragic since this is based on a true story. It's a phenomenal story.

collateral damage...

[ops-52535 · 10/10 · 11 March 2022]

Or the truth of wars, when wrong fully targeted elements of society are hit due to either wrongdone calculation or just willfully, it hurts generations to come anyhow. Copenhagen where hit, but also bergen , laksevåg in norway where also hit by the brits when trying to raid u-boot bunkers, missing and taking out a elementary school instead, with massive amout of casualties why i mention this is that my friends mum survived the ordeal, and ive always been admiring her gut and how she told her stories, when youre a history geek yourself...

this is danish film at the rim of the heavens gate, produced, filmed and acted in such a raw dirty manner, showing the frights of war. Its in the air these days to make war, so spread the rumour about this film asap, it might give some human beings hesitation.

Ett stort ''hurra hurra'', to this epic war drama, a big recommend from the grumpy old man.

Emotional, but felt too short

[JamesR1973 · 6/10 · 9 March 2022]

Just when you think there aren't any more stories to tell about WW2, you stumble across something that you'd never heard of before.

This film dramatises the real life events (towards the end of the war) where the RAF went on a mission to bomb the HQ of the Gestapo in Denmark. Unfortunately, some of the aircraft mistakenly bomb a catholic school full of children, killing a substantial number of them and their teachers.

It's not often I think a film is too short, but this one could have done with being a bit longer. Whilst the production design was excellent and the set up of the characters was good, the aftermath of the actual bombardment felt a bit rushed. As a result, I'm not sure it had the emotional impact it could have had.

One of the main problems was that I wasn't sure what was real and what wasn't. I'm guessing some of the side stories were fictional and put in for dramatic effect but, due to the short running time, they didn't really get that much space to develop.

The ending was a mix of relief and sadness. I assumed Teresa and Rigmor didn't survive, but their names were not included in the list of people who lost their lives in the credits which, per my comment above, made me think they were fictional characters.

Worth a look, but ultimately I felt it could have had more depth.

Excellent

[chad-61313 · 10/10 · 13 March 2022]

I thought this film was going to be a slow burn, but I was completely wrong. From story line to the acting, everything about this movie blew me away. Such a tragic tale and the producers, directors, cast, made u feel like u were in the middle of it all. It's a heartbreaking, true story and you'll realize how much the innocent suffer during times of war. Don't miss this one!!

Very realistic scenes

[jackyloso99 · 7/10 · 11 March 2022]

There where a few really realistic scenes, the bombing at the school, those children should get Oscars for their acting and the scenes when the RAF mosquitos flew to the target and the dropping of the bombs, incredibly accurate.

Shockingly awful scenes

[allankaaber · 10/10 · 11 March 2022]

Words can not describe the horrors that occurred on march 21st 1945 in Copenhagen, but Ole Bornedal does a really good job. This could very well be one of the top 5 ever made movies about WW2.

No story, except the story...

[KarstenBB · 6/10 · 21 March 2022]

The film is good, in a way, and excellent footage (outside the computer).

But... At first I didn't quite get the use of the spectacular, bombastic and completely overdone music, but once I realized there is only one, single story told, and obviously it's the story of the mistaken bombing of the French school in Copenhagen in 1945 - well, then the music made sense; hopefully the viewers would just surrender to it and completely overlook the fact that there is no other stories told, and we never, ever get to know any characters, their lifes, their roles or their justification. There's nothing.

It's a classic mistake, made in many moves again and again, and actually I'm surprised that it still happens.

At least young Ester Birch sparkles in her role as "Rigmor" adding life to the otherwise non interesting characters.

And for the Danish speaking movie viewers (well, some), it's just annoying listening to the novice actors speaking Danish the way it's spoken by generation Z in the suburbs - didn't anyone on the set consider a lesson or two by a professional linguistic expert, just to up the credibility...?

I was, however, left with a smile at the very end of the movie (no spoiler) when a character runs through the streets, from the startingpoint turning right (around the same one or two blocks) no more than 5 times, apparently ending up far away from the starting point - in fact, she should be just around the corner from where she started... Anyway, not my favorite Danish movie...

When God drops his pencil do we go to heaven ?

[Padreviews · 10/10 · 20 March 2022]

Wow what an incredible piece of storytelling about a true event .

A harrowing story

Sadly history repeats itself and this true event from Denmark at the end of World War Two is being tragically and unnecessarily perpetrated in wars around the world today in 2022 such as Ukraine and Yemen.

Acting was top notch , the storytelling brilliant - the cinematography excellent with superb point of view shots from the planes and bombshell themselves

The film had everything- redemption, good , evil , collaboration, love , hate , innocence and guilt .

I doubt if anyone could watch this without being emotionally involved , certainly no parent .

Those who make decisions to go to war need to put humanity first and save the children without whom there will be no future

Pad. A 10/10.

Kids giving it 10/10

[peterisaklevy · 6/10 · 11 March 2022]

Always skip reviews that are either giving a movie 1/10 or 10/10. It's just fanboys or haters.

'Shadow in My Eye' is okay-ish. I didn't really connect to any of the characters, which I blame the director/writer, and there should have been some sort of aftermath. The whole effort at time seems a little sloppy, but the effects during the end are great. I also liked the young male actor who played a nazi collaborator. He had great scene presence.

Poorly written

[JensenSH · 2/10 · 7 November 2021]

I enjoyed the acting, the great camera work and special effects. Nothing to say there.

Then there was the nun who flogged herself, broke her vow, kissed the "devil" and proclaimed that God did not exist. What did that have to do with the rest of the movie other than make fun of the nuns who died that day?

Then there was the "lost son" gestapo who attempted to rape a nun in the church before she conjured up a drop of blood (come on, how dumb would he be to fall for that?). This guy then becomes a "sort of" hero in the end... What?!?!

Then there was the rest of the nuns who are portrayed as dumb farytale believers. Well at least it shows what the writer thinks of religion, but come on..

All in all, the story was so much all over the place that I am surprised it wasn't written by Lars Von Trier.

Good Movie

[trapp_33 · 7/10 · 15 March 2022]

Positives The way of filming and shooting was good and amazing, and they showd as the characters sufferness so clearly, The characters diversty in this movie show you the story from different point of views which helped me to understand the movie well, the actors performance were delightful also I liked Bertram Bisgaard Enevoldsen as Henry and Ester Birch as Rigmor and Ella Josephine Lund Nilsson as Eva.

Negatives Some characters was not intresting and not important because of that sometimes I were not intrested or excited.

After all the movie is good and worth wacthing.

Denmark,21st of March 1945

[maorimahara-36520 · 9/10 · 28 October 2021]

I've always been interested in everything that has to do with WWII. My grandmothers brother worked in the underground against the nazis who occupied Denmark and unfortunately was shot by some German fanatics and left to bleed to death on the roadside in Skærbæk/Denmark - one day AFTER Denmark was liberated.

Since I later grew up in Germany I spoke mostly German but I was "forbidden" to do so when visiting my grandmother. As a kid I hardly understood why but my grandmother never really got over the death of her brother. And wasn't very fond of German people.

Later on I understood her and I've made it my responsibility to learn as much about that time and pass it on. We may not forget!!!!

Now this film shows one of the worst attacks in Denmark's young history which happened during WWII. And unfortunately it is a true story that not many Danes know about. Including me. That actually shocked me since 86 children were killed and 18 adults. And all because of an unfortunate accident.

But definitely a must see.

Won't say much about the story.

But all together I thought it was a very good film showing a very sad but important part of Denmark's history.

I liked the pictures shown of København/Copenhagen, how it looked like back in the days. Even though I sometimes could tell where they had used the computer, it didn't bother me.

The music also suited the movie and wasn't too dramatic even though the story is so tragic.

But mostly I was impressed by the acting of Fanny Bornedal (sister Teresa) and the kids Bertram Bisgaard (Henry), Ester Birch (Rigmor) and - even though she only had a small part - Malene Beltoft Olsen (Eva's mother).

The adults didn't have long monologues or dialogues. But their acting with such few lines was intense to watch.

The children were children and such joy to watch and made me smile quite a few times.

Birgit Borchorst, an 82 year old survivor, said in an interview, war is so random. "In the morning you go to kindergarten and in the afternoon your friend is dead!"

Cherish the moment and your loved ones as often as you can. "It might be the last time you speak to them" (B. Borchorst in an interview for TV2).

The movie definitely reminded me of one thing: We here in Europe are so lucky that we live in peace and don't have to fear war/bombs destroying our homes and take our loved ones. But at this moment there are people who are still suffering because of that.

All together I wouldn't have minded if the film had been 1hour longer. I really enjoyed watching the actors and they definitely made this film worth watching.

Beautifully shot, well acted, excruciating drama

[F1Rumors · 6/10 · 17 March 2022]

Great cast, fantastic cinematography, strong performances all over the place. Shame the drama is so transparent.

Attempting to build depth and rapport with the characters, the script and direction leverages shallow clichés, so they remain caricatures.

From the opening scene, you have the whole story in a microcosm, and frankly they could have left it there and delivered a world class short film instead of this.

The Copenhagen bombing error is a story worth telling properly. This melodrama doesn't fit the bill.

I am looking forward to seeing this cast and film crew on a project worthy of their considerable talents.

Don't want to think of parallels

[patherwill · 9/10 · 20 March 2022]

Horrible to think of the circumstances that make this such an incredibly moving film especially as it is a true story.. RAF bombers head for Copenhagen to bomb the Nazi headquarters out of existence, where its its occupants have placed a human shield in the building. However, as with all the best plans something goes very wrong and..........? Fanny Bornedal (daughter of the writer director) plays the mischievous, maverick Nun, Sister Teresa who is able to win over the school children as she speaks and acts on their level. The real stars include Bertram Enevoldson, Ester Birch and Ella Nilsson as three of the kids. Keep the tissues within reach.

Well directed and heavily relied on children 7/10

[saadanathan · 7/10 · 6 March 2023]

The Bombardment by Ole Bornedal seems at first glance as another WW2 movie, with a more personal point of view on the war, along with a terrible and tragic accident that happened along the way.

But looking further into the film, it is honestly a really good one. Mostly because it centers around multiple characters, specifically children.

To see such a movie from the point of view of children who went through the war was definitely a good experience. Not only because the movie centers around the accidental Bombardment of a school, but seeing the innocence of kids and their way of pursuing life was really uplifting and joyful to watch.

Some of the scenes I want to mention In details are mainly at the start of the film: One scene occurs when the secret Danish police that works with the Nazis in Copenhagen hunt and kill a deserter, the scene is shown from the P. O. V of two girls who each react differently to the act - Eva the danish girl and Greta the daughter of a Nazi officer.

The second scene is when the 3 kids, Henry, Rigmor and Eva go to school and stop by the bakery to buy a bit of bread. The scene is filmed in a suspenseful, scary and frightening way on purpose because it's meant to imitate the reaction of the kids to a scary situation.

I found the second scene to be amusing, for a war film it was nice and a good idea to involve a moment of innocence and joy among kids.

As much as I'd like to talk about the other characters shown in the movie, I believe the main focus was on the children themselves, even the parents serve a minor role. Proving the importance of having certain characters take the spotlight.

Overall, a really good film, centering around a tragic accident involving the main characters of the film.

What a sad story.

[jimpd · 8/10 · 28 January 2022]

The biggest mistake in the movie is, that Bornedal tries to fit a love story in and it failed. I rather wanted more about why Shellhuset should be bombed rather then text before the movie, that by the way difficult to read.

But the movie is very true to the real history and the conversation between the nun and one of the girls last minutes of her life, did actually happened.

Lastly I was glad that I saw the movie alone, because i cried! I have watched very documentaries about the accident but it did not hit my feelings as much as the movie did. And it still sits in me nearly 24 hours after.

For that I give a score of eight. And I will recommend people to watch the movie. In honour the people vi lost that day.

War Is Evil!

[cihangircagatay · 11 March 2022]

Dr. Mr. Ole, your film is highly important in terms of depiting the the deadly evil side of psychopathic satinism named as war.

I feel truly feel so sorry for those innocent Danish children.

Unfortunately these sort of unexpected and accidental tragedies are always probable in a world war.

Fascits and racist psychopath Hitler and the Nazi party and also all of those 1930's German people that voted for the nazi part responsible from the blood of those Danish angels who are now surely in heaven.

We lost about 60 million people in WWII and approximately 6 million of those people were Jewish in origin.

Countless pain and suffering but for what?

Just for a perverted and twisted phiolosphical idea.

Thank you very much.

Great characters, slim plot

[whatgift · 6/10 · 23 April 2022]

The bombing and its aftermath is some of the most masterful and harrowing filmmaking I've ever seen, it's a shame the hour preceding it is so light on plot and somewhat boring.

The acting and character development is done really well, but it seems disjointed and slow, but does give you a reason to care about the characters at the end.

Well made

[orkneyislander · 8/10 · 11 March 2022]

Covering the WWII RAF raid 'Operation Carthage' Some harrowing scenes that added to the realism. And good acting from the children involved.

Apart from the necessary sub plot it's pretty much true to the actual train of events and well worth a viewing. Brings home the horrors of collateral damage in wars.

Error

[stefandragan · 6/10 · 17 April 2022]

It is a tragedy that these same Danes bombed the schools and hospitals of FR Yugoslavia in 1999. And not by mistake. Whether he will make a film about those sufferings or other people's wounds doesn't hurt much.

Disappointing and frankly a little bit disrespectful.

[andreasfoghp · 4/10 · 11 March 2022]

This movie has some REALLY impressive shots. I am specifically thinking of the dropping of the bombs, but also the car getting shot up in the beginning. The sudden mood change in that scene was amazing.

The scene with Eva walking away from the school was very pretty, though it's definitely been seen before.

This movie is beautiful!

The child actors acted well throughout almost all of the movie. Bravo!

Now, that's the reason the movie even gets four stars, because those aspects were very good.

I just kept getting dragged out of the movie by Teresa's story. Nothing against the actress; she did well. It was the script and the character.

I am not saying that a nun has to be perfect in their relationship to God, but the way it was portrayed, she seemed to have a very superficial and even infantile attitude towards her faith. I didn't buy that this was a real person with a real conflict - it felt very much like Ole Bornedal had his clear idea at what Christianity is, and he wasn't gonna do any research. Thus, this entire part of the movie seemed silly. And that was a substantial part of the movie.

This also tainted the love story between Frede and Teresa, as her very surface-like faith was interwoven in their romantic arch. By the way, what's up with having your romantic lead try to force himself on Teresa? I get having nuanced characters with flaws, but come on!

I found Henry's resolution to be quite weak, even a bit laughable. He spent the movie writing on a notepad, not being able to speak, so now this specific kid can be fully utilized by writing down the names of the surviving victims? Come on. That's weak.

Before the end scene, with Eva's mother running through the streets, I turned to my sister and said: "I bet she is at home eating porridge". I can't be the only one who called that from miles away.

So, all in all, a very pretty movie, but the weak and stiff dialogue and the characters that weren't believeable really made this seem a borderline disrespectful telling of this real story. But it IS really pretty.

Watch it if you want to watch a beautiful movie. Don't expect anything from the script.

Dramatic episode

[Luigi Di Pilla · 6/10 · 23 March 2022]

In the Second World War targets became a nightmare. This was one too much that should never be happened. Not a great story but at least based on true events. May god bless all children that lost their lives there. The costumes and sceneries were well done. 6/10.