War Sailor

I like Norwegian productions because they are in their way innovative and do not tend to copy what others do. Usually they have a pretty high standard, like this one.

The special effects, the story, the acting, the historical reconstructions, all are very good. The movie is emotional, it speaks about the second world war, but is never political. Just a story of heroes and war, stuff that happen before, during, and after the war.

It doesn't try to be polite, or push propaganda, it tells what could really happen when you are a sailor, part of the biggest fleet of ships, away from you family, trying to survive and hence come home. It speaks about values, future, and what really matters. In one word: intense.

Just when we thought nothing of quality is left, nothing worth our time, what we have left of it. War Sailor shows up on Netflix. As real a depiction of events which shaped our world as you are likely to see. Transportation to another place and time at a historic moment in history, for the price of your Netflix subscription. Driven by a massive budget, insightful direction and powered by a screenplay that at times seems as if the words spoken were transcribed as they were overheard. Empowering performances that transcend the ordinary. Your mind tells you these are actors but your eyes and heart tell you differently. You come to believe this is real flesh and blood torn by events unfolding in Europe as the spreading war takes its toll. Highly recommended.

A superb war movie!

What a pleasant surprise this film turned out to be. The cinematography, editing, effects and music are all top notch and help tell a story about some great characters. I feared it would be a Michael Bay-ish, bombastic, humorless action fest. It's not.

This is a somber film about the horrors of war, both for the men and their families back home. Joner and Hagen both give superb performances, but the strong supporting actors are the real surprise.

I spoke to a war historian after the screening, who also loved the film, and his biggest complaint was the lack of hair cuts and one piece of clothing in one scene. I'd say that is pretty good.

This is a human story, so the language barrier shouldn't be a problem. I urge you to check it out if you're interested in war history or human dramas in general. Also, the fact that they made this on what is a shoestring budget in Hollywood, is impressive!

No wonder this is Norway's candidate for best Foreign Language Film at next year's Academy Awards. It's a tough one to beat. Two thumbs way up!

This movie, about a sailor who is in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean when the World War II breaks out, is a very deep and impactful journey where we experience the pain of war. The cinematography was great and the depression was clear. I think the main actors were incredible, especially Kristoffer Joner (as Alfred) and Pål Sverre Hagen (as Sigbjørn). The story was sometimes quite dark, and it was emotional to watch. My main critic of this movie is its runtime. It was far too stretched, which made the movie a little boring sometimes. I understand if this was supposed to make the movie feel sad and empty, but I had too much of that feeling. I wish it was more compact with more action, which would make the movie more exciting. Anyway, worth a watch!

This is another well-crafted war movie from Norway. Earlier, viewers were treated to a similar war movie, "Navik," also another well-made Norwegian production and shot in northern Norway.

What's impressive about War Sailor, which can be said about Narvik, too, is that it's a thoughtful movie without the obligatory hysteria that usually punctuates the genre.

The horrors of war don't distract the viewer from the compelling story that unfolds.

The major storyline may not be unique. There are war stories that highlight close friends in the battlefield who protect each other to the best of their abilities. A recent example is Devotion. Another is Band of Brothers.

This time around, the close friends are aboard merchant ships conscripted by the Norwegian government to the Allied war effort during the early part of World War II. This brings them to Malta and Liverpool en route to New York thence to Murmansk, Russia.

But aside from the gore of war that the limited series portrays, it also succeeds in driving home the raw emotions that loved ones torn apart by circumstance confront because of the reality of war wherever they are: in the high seas or in Bergen.

In the end, it's their love for each other, which can only be described as agape, that allows Freddy and Sigbjorn to survive the war and its aftermath.

There's this scene towards the end, when both men are in their seventies, in which Sigbjorn visits Freddie's family in Bergen on the occasion of the birthday of the latter's youngest son after so many years of absence. That scene is so gut-wrenching in unexpected ways.

The movie doesn't hesitate to inform the viewer, as an aside, of the losses inflicted on Norway for the sake of the Allied cause in terms of its citizens who died aboard its merchant ships as well as the number of such ships destroyed or sunk during the war.

This is a triumph of Norwegian cinema. Don't miss it.