Das Boot
On land they dreamed of being heroes. Beneath the sea they pray to be survivors.
Overview
A German submarine hunts allied ships during the Second World War, but it soon becomes the hunted. The crew tries to survive below the surface, while stretching both the boat and themselves to their limits.
Epic is an understatement, and with this film I opted to dive dive dive right in with the Directors cut (running at 3 hrs and 27 mins).
War films can be tired and cliched, and usually are clear on who the baddies are – but when a film tells an opposing viewpoint of war from the side generally thought to be the bad side it offers something unique, whilst also running the risk of being distasteful – thankfully this film serves the setting well and engages you with a crew of characters at the height of WWII.
The key thing here is that the characters are given depth, and we really get to know and care for them early on. They are merely soldiers in a war – and with a wide array of views on how they really feel about it all. From the start with the final departure celebrations, showing them as just lively young men being sent away on a mission – to the tense moments at sea when edges are frayed. The setting of the U-boat is claustrophobic, and the tense moments that build as it attempts to evade pursuit by allied destroyers have you on the edge of your seat, hoping that they get through it – by which point the fact you are watching a German crew…the bad guys…is a distant memory – these are human beings, and you care for them much as you would any other person.
We don’t glimpse a lot of moments off boat – keeping the cameras inside with the crew, and only glimpsing occasional bursts outside, makes us, the viewers, a part of the crew. Wolfgang Peterson’s attention to detail in the set conveys the real struggle, and real fear, of being trapped in a tin deep underwater.
Staggeringly powerful film, and one which now want to seek out the 300 minute TV series version.