Prismark10 Alan Bleasdale's drama, The Sinking of the Laconia recounts a controversial maritime incident in the second world war. The event took place some 600 miles from the west coast of Africa in September 1942 some.According to one British survivor. The German U Boat Commander, Werner Hartenstein sank the Laconia killing over 2000 passengers but then realising that civilians were in the ship including women, children, Italian prisoners of war, he risked his U Boat and the lives of his crew to sit on the surface all the time and rescue the survivors. The U Boat was then attacked by a US bomber despite displaying a red cross flag.Bleasdale adds some stories to the main narrative. Mortimer (Andrew Buchan), the Laconia's honourable Third Officer dutifully carrying on with his life just moments after learning his wife and children have been killed in a bombing raid. Hilda (Franka Potente) is a widow who lost her baby in the sinking. She sounds English but she is part German, guilty that she did not protest against the rise of Nazism unlike other members of her family.This is a well shot drama but not entirely enthralling. Bleasdale's reputation is such that you expect top drawer writing from him. Ken Duken stands out as Hartenstein but it is not in the level of Das Boot as a claustrophobic drama.

misonafashion This documentary - drama was a great thing to show to the main public. The idea of being noble and humane in the midst of a war is quite unusual and it should have been stressed out more in order to make humans aware in such a way. This kind of situations are extraordinary, and they happen only occasionally, under special circumstances. I hope more movies would be made in such honorable manners to encourage people of this planet to be just like this or better. The media has this power, and I wish it was used more in this way! Thank you for making this movie, I'd rate it min. 7,5 if I was asked. And all this nationality preferences and it's discredits are just what the war is all about, I sincerely hope we soon become what we pretend to be. Big respect for the captain and I hope we aspire to such deeds!

helenandbrian The film did get overly sentimental at times and there were some unnecessary plot digressions that served only as filler, but overall, a moving portrayal of actual events.When the American bomber goes in and bombs a submarine crowded with people on deck and displaying a large red cross, that is an accurate retelling of what actually happened. Similarly, a despicable Nazi U-Boat commander actually did turn out to be a caring man who disobeyed orders and jeopardised his own safety to rescue all those survivors of a boat that he had targeted legitimately. Just as in real life, he was eventually forced to abandon them to their fate because he was attacked by the Americans. Several other U-Boats did also join in the operation.In reality, around half the survivors eventually died before they eventually reached safety.

guard_jamie I was very much looking forward to this, as the adverts for it suggested that it could be an excellent little historical drama, the like of which the BBC regularly produce.I could not have been more wrong.I'm aware that such productions are always subject to budget constraints, but the CGI-effects were distinctly dodgy - I was very much aware that they were CGI. The clothing worn by the cast was another severe let down. It was often too pristine, in some cases ill-fitting, and occasionally utterly unauthentic for the 1940s. The greatest issue with the production however lay in the script and the acting. The acting was often wooden, and unbelievable. The script was clunky, and too 'modern' in language and attitudes held by the protagonists - the production I saw did not feel like it was portraying the 1940s. The script also suffered for concentrating on too many characters, which resulted in my not being emotionally engaged and actually caring whether they survived the sinking or not (this wasn't helped by very few of them being played as particularly pleasant people). Another particular problem was the number of simply unbelievable events that are shown throughout the film - the 'crossing the equator' scene in the U-Boat suggests a SERIOUS lack of discipline aboard, and the pep-talk by one of the U-Boat officers to the victim of the crew's bullying about being a team-player is very 21st century. The cringe-worthy performance of 'home on the range' or some such western song by the awkward British officer was very odd, and did not feel very 1940s at all - and I did find myself wondering where he got the costume from on a boat in the middle of a war? The portrayal of the Polish troops as nothing but violent thugs was a gross misrepresentation and offensive.All in all, I was severely disappointed, feeling that the bravery and sacrifice shown on both sides during the real sinking of the SS Laconia was totally ignored for an over-dramatic, literally unbelievable piece of hokum that looked and felt like it was a poorly-written 21st century take on one of the saddest story's of the war.