The movie follows the crew of a German U-Boat in the Atlantic during World War Two through the eyes of a young reporter, Lt. Werner. This young man introduces us to the cynical captain, Jurgen Prochnow, and the young, high energy crew. We the audience get to share their boredom patrolling the ocean; their fear and tension dealing with depth charges and British Destroyers; and share in the oppression that comes from spending so long in such a claustrophobic environment. We also see them change from excited youths eager to prove themselves heroes, to a cynical men who become all too familiar with the tarnish that eventually covers a shiny story.
The music is fantastic. Rich and heroic. The acting and the writing are great. The whole thing was shot inside a replicated sub. The director didn’t cut it in half to make maneuvering easy. This means the camera work had to be creative, and it’s truly genius work. All the shots are clean and well framed. I could clearly follow the action, and didn’t get confused.
I watched this movie in German with English subtitles. German is often criticized for being a harsh language, but I found it truly beautiful to listen to. All the actors had rich voices, so listening to the dialogue was a pleasure.
Overall, a great movie. I was invested throughout the entire story, and would watch all four hours again.
