Such a tale of woe on the high seas is only rarely portrayed on film. To me, the film goes beyond the actors and the film making. It seems to have taken on an inexplicable life of it's own- straight to some mechanized Nazi oblivion at the bottom of the north sea.
The tragedy builds to a mythical, nightmarish scale. The film seems to inadvertently portray some accursed modern archetype of war. Perhaps the sea and the boat itself are the true, silent commanders of the crew, who are merely the pathetic pawns of fate. The kapitan, who's life at sea depended entirely on the boat- you could almost see his soul fall away as he watched it finally go down. This film seems to cut right to the seductive myth and horrible reality of war.
The film is long. Relentlessly long. Torpedoes travel in real time. The sets are dark and gritty probably beyond the reality of the day. It's over three hours long. I cannot explain why I had to watch it twice. In the second viewing, you may start to see glimpses of your own face among the crew. The film is so haunting, it leaves me so incredulous and begging for any type of resolution, some kind of explanation, conclusion or the slightest psychological comfort offered to address the merciless, hopeless abyss which is the end... it is never offered.
The tragedy builds to a mythical, nightmarish scale. The film seems to inadvertently portray some accursed modern archetype of war. Perhaps the sea and the boat itself are the true, silent commanders of the crew, who are merely the pathetic pawns of fate. The kapitan, who's life at sea depended entirely on the boat- you could almost see his soul fall away as he watched it finally go down. This film seems to cut right to the seductive myth and horrible reality of war.
The film is long. Relentlessly long. Torpedoes travel in real time. The sets are dark and gritty probably beyond the reality of the day. It's over three hours long. I cannot explain why I had to watch it twice. In the second viewing, you may start to see glimpses of your own face among the crew. The film is so haunting, it leaves me so incredulous and begging for any type of resolution, some kind of explanation, conclusion or the slightest psychological comfort offered to address the merciless, hopeless abyss which is the end... it is never offered.