Der Kommandant - Entscheidung im Atlantik

The movie goes back to the story of «Commandante» Salvatore Todaro, obviously a name of reference in the history of the Italian navy. The story moves from La Spezia, in Italy, to the Island of Santa Maria, in the Azores (Portugal) in the second half of 1940, during WWII. Indeed, the span of the narrative goes from the mediterranean to the Atlantic across the Strait of Gibraltar on board of an Italian submarine. But the real story is another, much deeper. In my opinion, this is a movie about humanity and leadership, about command and obedience, about reason and self-sacrifice, and morality, especially in times of war. There are the laws of war and those of the sea; but, most importantly, there also are the Laws of Humanity. In a subtle way, I could see in the movie the laws of God too. Indeed, this is a movie that shows what a leader can be and, most importantly, how the Laws of Humanity might prevail, even in times of conflict and war.

The movie is quintessentially Italian. This is certainly reflected in the immense list of delicious foods that the movie transforms in an interesting kind of cultural refrain. Particularly noteworthy is the question that that the apparent «enemy» puts to Comandante Salvatore Todaro in Portuguese territorial waters in October of 1940: Why did you save us? «Perché siamo Italiani», was the answer. In my personal assessment: the movie is wonderful; indeed, at times truly moving! Watching this movie confirms the idea that we might once again be back to manifestations of great cinema in Italy.

This is a well-structured cinematic production in all its aspects. The storytelling is convincing, the character performances are compelling, and the visual construction is solid, encompassing all elements of cinematography.

Narratively, this film is the latest in a long line of movies that contribute to the post-war myth of the "Italiani brava gente" (Italians, the good people) who, in some way, have sought to redeem Italy's wartime role from the ignominy of its actions, from the civil war in Spain, with its horrifying bombings of civilians, to the massacres in Ethiopia or the bloody invasion of Libya or Greece. Since the armistice of '43 and in the post-war era, when the tables turned and coexistence with new allies, first, and then with a whole European community, became necessary, there has been a predominantly cinematic effort to create the myth of the "good Italian," largely overlooking or neglecting all other aspects. In fact, as early as 1954, the film "La grande speranza" (The big hope) was produced about this same wartime episode, of which "Comandante" can be seen as a remake.

It is commendable to resurrect heroic figures for the creation of a popular national narrative, but what truly matters are the facts, and it is sufficient to note that to this day, Italy has still not officially apologized to the Spanish government for the atrocious damage inflicted by its bombings on the civilian population, something that, for example, the German government has done.

Returning to the film, one gets the sense that this story is being revived today, at a time when the tragedy of shipwrecks involving sub-Saharan immigrants crossing the western Mediterranean is prevalent, with many being rescued and others mercilessly rejected by the current governments. In this sense, the film seems to issue a warning to governments of all orientations, especially those of the right, that lives must be saved at sea.

And this is the merit of this film, having precisely combined a historical event with a burning contemporary issue that is not even explicitly mentioned but that everyone has connected. Chapeau.

So, what is the movie "Comandante"? "Comandante" is a courageous movie about a part of the history of World War 2 almost forgotten, at least in Italy. Courageous because in this particular time period, where the political correctness tends to polish or iron out, in a very childish way how events in human history evolved, pretending to view all our history from a nowadays point of view, this movie does it different. For sure it has not the budget of a colossal, but it achieves what, for the same subject, Das Boot did in the eighties: photographing an epoch, with the people living in it. No post modern scripts, no revisionist dialogues or self-compassionate points of view.

The movie itself is a recount of real events, following a mission in the Atlantic Ocean performed by an Italian Submarine in the year 1940. The fear is there, the mentality is there, what you get to see is the point of view of people who fought for the other side in this atrocious conflict, depicted as it really was.

Last bust not least, the most precious thing in it, is the human side emerging, so rare, but so real, even there, in a time not so long ago.

Pierfrancesco Favino is an incredible actor. He makes you really feel that this movie is based on a real war event. At the same time, Johannes Wirix is a young actor who has incredible potential to be famous. The movie is a bit similar to Das Boot Franchise but of course it has the Italian touch and more sentimental. The first half of the movie is based on the darkness and horrors of the wars but the second half is focusing on the goodness and humanity in people. A true story that makes you understand how much humanity is important ! I recommend everyone to watch this movie and I give 9 out of 10 for this masterpiece.

"Comandante" tells the story of Italian commander Salvatore Todaro and his crew that were the protagonists of a great act of humanity during the beginning of WWII. The two biggest merits of the movie are the visual impact that is pretty good (especially the reconstruction of the Cappelletti submarine) and the performances. In particular Pierfrancesco Favino was exceptional and magnetic on screen, owning every scene he was in. Additionally the story narrated is interesting and very human, but on the contrary the storytelling itself was the weakest point of the movie. More in detail the narration is a bit flat especially in the second part, which should be the emotional core of the film. The first half was indeed pretty interesting to me, with a darker tone and mostly about how bad war is. Then, the second part, focuses on the humanity that great people are able to maintain even in extreme conditions. However the rhythm slows down too much and a sense of flatness kicks in. Indeed the second half, except for a few interesting scenes, was a bit too formulaic and impersonal.

Despite some issues, "Comandante" is still a good movie that narrates an interesting story. You won't probably go crazy about it, but it is surely a fine watch if you are either interested in its human side, in war movies or in Pierfrancesco Favino performance.