French war drama by Rene Clement
This film is really a surprise! Rene Clement, who a decade later filmed a Tom Ripley novel by Patricia Highsmith for the first time with Alain Delon in the leading role of "Plein soleil" (1959), presents here a wonderfully nasty war thriller that is incredibly exciting .
In the final days of the Second World War, a submarine sets sail from Oslo carrying a number of extremely disgusting Nazis from Germany and Nazi sympathizers from other countries. All these miserable people want to escape to South America to escape the impending defeat. Deluded as they all are, this mishmash actually forgot to bring a doctor on board. But they need it after the little accident involving a mild-mannered full-blooded fascist (Florence Marly). Without further ado, you go ashore in Rovan, France, and kidnap the local country doctor (Henri Vidal (1919-1959), who, shortly before his untimely death, was with Romy Schneider in "Ein Engel auf Erden" and Brigitte Bardot in "Voulez-vous danser avec moi?" was visible) on the submarine. And we continue towards South America so that the drama can continue.
This short description of the starting point makes it clear what is so unusual and exciting about this film. Most of the scenes take place in the confines of a submarine, creating a setting that is very reminiscent of "Das Boot" (1981) by Wolfgang Petersen and does not need to shy away from this comparison. The film is basically narrated by the kidnapped country doctor, which gives a special and initially unusual perspective. French and German are spoken, which of course fits perfectly with the characters in the story. In addition, the characters are so unpleasant and their actions are so disturbing that the viewer is simply surprised. This film dares to focus on extreme monsters as anti-heroes. Even the country doctor as the only identification figure is not a shining hero, but rather someone who is placed in a hopeless situation and has to struggle to defend himself.
The actors in this film are terrific. The characters they portray form an impressive collection of Nazi abominations: there is the ardent fascist who is linked to both an Italian entrepreneur and a German general, an informant, a scientist, all of whom supposedly believe in final victory. But the most disgusting and impressive are the SS man Forster (Jo Dest) and his "adjutant" Willi Morus (great: Michel Auclair, who later also appeared in "Funny Face" (1957) by Stanley Donen and "Days of the Jackal" (1973). By Fred Zinneman), which are linked by an ambivalent sado-masochistic connection, which is truly remarkable for a film from this period.
This film is a little pearl with breathtaking scenes that should definitely be discovered. Highly recommended!
