De vuurlinie

The movie starts a bit slow but a lot of recognition, to the end the events brought tears to my eyes. Every veteran has a story to tell, even if it is a very sad one, take the time to listen. For a Dutch movie, no Hollywood budget, it was pretty good, actors did a great job too. Although the movie is based on facts, fiction was added for the screen, I still think it is very realistic story. When a soldier comes home after a mission, the mission at home starts and it effects everyone in the family. Remember that next time you meet a veteran that has served his country, they have seen and been through things no one should see or go through.

It is a well written story which is a combination of stories of Dutch Afghanistan veterans and Dutch distinguished special forces major Marco Kroon in particular. At the beginning of the movie it is stated that the story is based on facts as well as fiction and this makes up for a great and thought-provoking watch.

The acting by the lead actors Waldemar Torenstra (Marco Kroon) and Sallie Harmsen (Mirjam van den Hoven) was good and in my opinion very believable.

Major Kroon has been distinguished with the Netherlands' greatest military award "Militaire Willemsorde" but despite this honor he has been pretty controversial. This movie shows mainly the other side of the story that the media doesn't highlight where he and his family go through difficult times which is very understandable considering the circumstances. I did like it that they didn't portray Kroon as the perfect superhero either, but in the end nobody is perfect.

A couple of military details weren't correct, this is a bit annoying for someone with a military background and with a bit more research wouldn't have been necessary. A couple of examples: saluting inside, incorrectly wearing the baret, counting two stars for the captain rank instead of three, a military psychologist working in a bunker of sorts, incorrect procedures while driving and using their personal weapon, the commander of the armed forces working from a big mansion etc. Small details for the average viewer, but important for military personnel all over the world.

These flaws didn't let the story down. A story most importantly about veterans and their family and the experience they go through. I would recommend it!

I'd give this more than a ten. At least a twenty.

I do have to provide 600 characters to display my feelings about the character of the main role in this story: Marco.

I can keep it short.

To me it was prevention.

In that sense for me Marco fully earns the medal.

Still, this is possibly not why it was justified by our government to honor Marco.

The honor why he fully earns it - for what it's worth - is at a totally different level.

As such, it's beyond honor, which explains to me the expression by his wife at the start of the movie before the titles: "Het is gewoon een gek feestje" ("It's just a silly party") and little later "Het is maar een medaille hè. Het stelt niet zoveel voor" ("It's just a medal, huh? It poses not so much.").

What do you feel & think? Was it revenge, rebellion or prevention?

Furthermore, I cannot imagine that our Chief of Defense at that time would use such a disparaging tone to Marcos's wife about her husband.

I therefore find it disrespectful that this is depicted this way in the movie and more importantly, completely contradictory to the development of the relationship of this Chief of Defense and Marco.

That will be one of the major fictions in this movie.

So, even a twenty has a negative aspect.

The Fire Line is a new war drama directed by Roel Reine, director of Michiel de Ruyter and Redbad.

After returning from his military service in Afghanistan, Marco Kroon (Waldemar Torenstra) receives the highest award in the Netherlands: the Military Order of William. Yet he struggles with trauma from everything he experienced during the war.

If he is later suspected of criminal activities such as drugs and arms trafficking, he runs the risk of losing his status rewards. Furthermore, his personal life also comes under fire. This also affects his relationship with his girlfriend Mirjam van den Hoven (Sallie Harmsen). Now he must confront his personal traumas again in a court case to prove his innocence.

The film is based on the story of Marco Kroon, who helped the Dutch army in the fight against the Taliban and other terrorist groups. Despite his heroic deeds, he and his lover later ended up in bad news. However, what exactly happened to him has never really been recorded. The dark stories, which he himself describes somewhat vaguely, remain for some an abnormal fantasy, or just lies. Due to a lack of details, the film itself is unable to provide a clear explanation of this. So the real story and this film adaptation continue to miss something, such as clearer details. The rest of the film also comes across as a standard war drama. If you are familiar with such films, this film may remain on the familiar side.

The characters, just like the real people on which they are based, work themselves in the wrong direction. They do this by being unclear or hiding the real truth from each other. Despite the drama that the characters experience, as a viewer you sympathize with them a little less, because as a viewer you never really get a clear answer to what exactly happened. Because of these unclear aspects, the film sometimes has its long-winded moments, or remains difficult to follow. The storytelling is also poorly balanced at times. While Marco Kroon is first accused of drug trafficking, the story tries to suppress these actions by suddenly bringing his traumatic war experiences into greater focus. What really happened to him in Afghanistan cannot be made official due to a lack of witnesses. So at the end of this film you can judge Marco Kroon's own story more for yourself, or just see it as a strong story.

The acting is well done. Waldemar Torenstra comes across believably as a soldier who experienced intense things during his military days and suffered some trauma from this. Because the exact truth is not known, these aspects may remain somewhat unclear. Sallie Harmsen also gives a fitting performance as Marco Kroon's partner. Mirjam van den Hoven also had her secrets. If the real people had been more honest and open with each other and the rest of the world, they could have had a more detailed story at the beginning of this film adaptation.

Director Roel Reiné films the life of war hero and veteran Marco Kroon with De Vuurlinie. Still, Reiné didn't want to make a one-on-one biographical film about Kroon, so he added a lot of fiction to the story where the story about Kroon runs like a common thread through the film. So I'm not going to start with things that aren't right or how protagonist Waldemar Torenstra doesn't look like Marco Kroon, because that was the whole set-up behind this film. What the film actually is is an indictment of how we as Dutch treat our heroes. The Dutch would like to point out their mistakes to people and tell people how to live in our society and those who do not want to adapt to them must of course be tackled considerably. Look at what is happening in the current Netherlands, for example in politics. Our political leaders know how to strongly condemn criticism of other countries and want to be the bravest boy in the class, but in the meantime a society is disrupted to such a way that you should not fall out of tone because then you are the dick.

So it is with Marco Kroon, he has come back from his mission in Afghanistan, where he is traumatized by the terrible things he had to do and experienced. Once in the Netherlands, he receives the highest military award for his exploits, a scene that has not been filmed too strongly. For example, Reiné tries to mix the real images with the cinematic images and you can see that enormously in the difference in camera use, plus the fact that the cinematic pieces feel rather made. After that, Marco wants to pick up life again and work in his wife's pub as a bartender, something that is not really appreciated by military gentlemen of a higher hand. Because what kind of signal do you give if you suddenly go behind the tap as a soldier with a Military-Willems Order award in your pocket. It will cost Marco dearly if he is accused of drug and arms trafficking, without the Public Prosecutor having good evidence of it. The Public Prosecutor is portrayed in a strong way by Angela Schijf, a role in which you really start to hate her. Because as everyone knows, the real Marco Kroon was eventually acquitted of the drug trade, but he was for the possession of a few power surge weapons, of which he delivered three through them.

Reiné indicated that this was a bit of a kind of accusation against the current Dutch society and how we dealt with our heroes and of course there is definitely something to be said for that. Reiné indicated in an interview somewhere that their heroes were treated differently in the United States and that the Netherlands could take an example. That may be partly the case, but Reiné may have forgotten for a moment how the Americans handled their returning Vietnam veterans and how they were also vomited there by American society. So that kite doesn't quite go on, but given the current society, he does have a point and the Fire Line really knows how to put its finger on the sore spot. The film is of everything, a family drama, a court drama, but also a war film and the latter are the strongest parts of the film and is translated to the screen in an almost un-Dutch way. The tactical maneuvers, the horrors in the torn Afghanistan, but also the parts that happened there where the dogs really don't like bread, where Marco eventually falls prey to and knows how to fully explain his post-traumatic syndrome.

The Line of Fire is a very strong film about the life of war hero Marco Kroon with a fictional twist on it. This was done to actually make a film in which all soldiers will recognize themselves and to avoid the parts about incorrect facts or a Waldemar Torenstra who does not look like Kroon at all. Torenstra makes a strong performance and Reiné knows how to show the Dutch viewer that we live in a finger-wise culture and like to point out people to their mistakes, and then tell them how to live. It is of course a gross shame that someone like Marco Kroon was just accused of things he didn't do without proof. The war in Afghanistan are the strongest pieces of the film and is shown on the silver screen in an almost un-Dutch way. For the rest, the film is just very good, with the end of the award ceremony, there is actually little to criticize about the film that manages to emotion and shock by showing a peace mission in such a way that the viewer knows that a peace mission for a soldier is not a holiday, but that he ends up in total madness and a cold war.