Das Boot the TV series and I have been waiting a while for it to premiere and last night on Sky Atlantic it happen with a bonus of showing the two opening episodes and here is my review. I have to say the film of the same name is in my top 10 all-time war films.
The main difference between the film and the TV series … woman and a back-story on land that I thought would be off-putting but I enjoyed the breaks from the submarine. The film was famed of its realistic portrayal of life on a submarine. It was highly acclaimed by critics and film fans.
This high-budget sequel to the classic 1981 film offered human drama and richer female characters remember in the film woman were only seen at the beginning of the film in the brothel scene. The brothel features heavily in the opening two episodes but this is a sequel not a remake of the original film.
It an ambitious series and opened with a scene of a sinking submarine drifting to the bottom of the ocean with all the alarm and panic and dark, sweaty, close-ups as a boat began to flood. Fortunately, and in a refreshing divergence from the film, this opening episode devoted time to the drama on shore, as the crew of U-612 prepared for their maiden voyage, led by a captain grappling with how to summon the ruthlessness required of him, earn the respect of his men and live up to his famous father’s reputation.
There is more space for personal mystery and, crucially, rich scope for female characters. Strongest here was Vicky Krieps as Simone Strasser, a young woman who moved to La Rochelle to work as a translator. She proudly declared “Heil Hitler”, but it became clear that she might have more to hide, with a brother on the boat, hushed conversations in French in the shadows, a secret envelope, and a face from her past.
Her brother Frank, a radio operator, after an accident on board U-612 he is shanghaied onto the subs next mission. He asks his sister to take his place at a clandestine night time exchange in the darkened cloisters of a church with the French Resistance. Her troubles are not helped with the local head of the Gestapo taking a liking to her.
On U-612, tensions quickly arise between the inexperienced but principled young captain Klaus Hoffman (Rick Okon) and his twitchy First Watch Officer (August Wittgenstein), who disagrees over everything from military protocol to the rules of engagement. The crew are not happy with their captain and are resentful believing the First Watch Officer should have been made captain.
The captain pushes his crew with training at sea and when they are about to attack a British convoy he breaks off the attack on receiving orders to undertake a new mission. The crew talk of cowardice.
The U-Boat story is also interesting, but not anywhere near as realistic as the movie. There are some periods where it does capture the sheer terror and claustrophobia of fighting in a submarine. Overall, worth watching, but do not expect it to be anything like the movie, plot wise and quality wise.
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