TCG

Does this film show the sailors in a sympathetic light?

I'm thinking about buying it blind, but it'll be hard for me 'get into it' if i'm rooting for them to die.

On the other hand, how am I supposed to feel sympathy for sailors who attacked and destroyed many British and American ships?

I just cant see myself rooting for them to survive. But I cant ignore all the good reviews for it.

DonnachaOne

The germans got a kick out of Saving Private Ryan, I'm sure.

And just because I'm Irish doesn't mean I hate films where the brits win, does it?

TCG

What does that mean?
I dont care if the germans liked or disliked SPR. Just as they dont have to care if i like Das Boot or not.

You are allowed to hate films where the brits win. I'm not gonna tell you how to feel.

Thank you for NOT answering my questions.

DonnachaOne

I thought it was pretty clear what I meant.

When watching a film, the film is what matters to me, not the characters' mission(s) and how they contrast with my personal beliefs or politics. I'm not alone in this sentiment - in Saving Private Ryan, the soldiers are obviously responsible for deaths of german soldiers; yet I have a friend from Germany, and that is his favourite film.

I think you were a little harsh, but understand no hostility was meant in my earlier comment.

TCG

I was just getting defensive. I sensed hostility in your first post so I responded likewise. But since you meant none, I apologize.

That is a better answer. What i was hoping for.

Thanks for responding to both of my posts.

audrey

Yes, the movie shows the German submarine crew in a sympathetic light. If you can’t get past that, then you may not enjoy the movie. On the other hand, the movie brings war down to a personal level; these are ordinary guys fighting for their lives. The movie is not about politics—it’s a brutal tale of survival.

bboisvert

The movie shows the Germans as human beings, if that's what you mean.

War is not always a case of good vs. evil. Das Boot is a fantastic film, a serious film... not like a James Bond film where you are rooting for the "bad guy" to die.

Bandoman

What bboisvert said. It's a GREAT film, and shows that the rank-and-file sailors were real people who were placed in a terrible situation. The characters are depicteds realistically, and if you have any empathy at all you feel for them.

Pants

Above all the film is realistic. It doesn't show the sailors or their actions in a sympathetic OR negative light. It just honestly depicts what it was like.

SPOILERS

There is a scene where they sink an American cargo ship and due to the neccessity of their own survival are forced to turn their back on drowning men. This scene is powerful, cold, and does not show the Geman sub-mariners as having done the "right" thing. They are not happy about what they've done, yet it's what they have to do. It is an anti-war film because it shows the paradoxes of war.

Heat

Just as a side note, it is based off of the book "Das Boot" (which is German for "The Boat"), which was written by Lothar Buchheim, a real U-Boat war veteran. The movie is based off of this book, and of course the book goes into more detail and has incidents that were not in the movie.

All of the things that happened in the book (and movie) really happened, just not all on the same cruise or necessariliy to the same U-boat.

An excellent movie, it is one of my favorites.

eedoon

Except the ending, of course. And yeah... I give this a

C Roberts

I didn't think it showed them in a sympathetic light or an evil light. To me they were just human beings who were probably no different than the human beings in the British or American militaries. You also get the impression from most of them that they don't care for der Fuhrer at all, but the actual subject never really comes up. They aren't politicians, they're soldiers doing their best to win battles and stay alive.

audrey

Not to quibble, but maybe I don’t understand what some of you mean by sympathy or sympathetic. From American Heritage:

A relationship or an affinity between people or things in which whatever affects one correspondingly affects the other.
Mutual understanding or affection arising from this relationship or affinity.

The act or power of sharing the feelings of another.
A feeling or an expression of pity or sorrow for the distress of another; compassion or commiseration. Often used in the plural. See Synonyms at pity.

IMO the movie is constructed to elicit feelings for the crew and their plight. Unless a viewer is completely checked-out or blinded by hatred, it’s hard to imagine watching this movie without feeling sympathy for them.

Pants

Do you feel sympathy for them when they turn their back on the drowning men? I didn't. Nor does the film ask us to.

The film has an ambiguous dynamic. We're not sure how we feel about what we are watching. We're close to them, so we don't want to see them die, yet we know they're mission is one of evil, carrying out acts of war against civilians. This confliction pays off at the end when.....

***SPOILER****

C Roberts

That's a really pointless spoiler warning since the spoiler is right below it. Please block it out or remove it. The originator of this thread has not seen the movie.

Pants

you really ought to deleate your post now newb

Sorry but I'm an absolute STICKLER for forum etiquette

audrey

Pants, I think we are saying essentially the same thing. I agree the movie is ambiguous and that our emotions ebb and flow, but the fact that you say: We're close to them, so we don't want to see them die, They are not happy about what they've done, yet it's what they have to do, and that you draw a distinction between the crew and their mission leads me to believe that you do share feelings for the crew---which is basically the definition of sympathy. The fact that our emotions rise and fall over the course of the movie does not change the fact that we see the crew as human beings in a difficult situation.

Pants

Yes, there is sympathy for the crew, I agree w/ you. I don't think anyone said there wasn't. What's your point?

audrey

Uh, what was it you said earlier....It doesn't show the sailors or their actions in a sympathetic OR negative light

Pants

I meant that the film is ambivilant.

...or at least it makes the audience ambivilant.

C Roberts

Thank you for adding the spoiler tags.

Feel free to message me and explain this whole forum etiquette thing you speak of.

chanster

Actually politics are discussed in the movie. When the Capt and the Nazi idealogue from Mexico sit down and talk, about the pointless philosphy of Nazism a bit. The movie is about war and its effect on people, it could have easily been the a movie about Allied submariners. Make sure to watch the original German soundtrack, I like it much better.

costanza187

I watched the long version (I taped it off Encore a few months ago) I found it to be a bit ...well too long and tiresome, approx 4:40...If it was shortened down to half or so, It would probably be a pretty good movie. I think the DVD is like 2:30 or so?? I think I read that somewhere, that would be a little more "do-able" My bad for trying to watch a movie that long in one sitting.

As far as how I felt about it, well I don't know they seemed like just guys, had to keep reminding myself that they were the "enemy".