This movie is apparently based on the true story of a U-boat mission that set off just prior to the end of WWII in Europe. It's goal being to deliver Uranium Oxide from Norway to Japan for the ultimate aim of constructing a nuclear weapon.
The movie is also known in some territories as "Das Boot 2 - La Ultima Misión". But, I should mention that if you've seen "Das Boot", then I would say that "The Last U-boat" isn't really a sequel to that movie.
The budget, production values, and acting in "The Last U-boat" can't match that film, which is unsurprising since many would say (myself included) that "Das Boot" is indisputably the greatest U-boat film ever made. However, this does not matter at all, because "The Last U-boat" stands up perfectly well on its own, and has a whole different atmosphere about it.
I really like this film, as it succeeds in making you feel for the main characters, in particular, the German commander. There's a real believability in the seemingly nonsensical orders and allegiances the characters are faced with, and the near impossibility of making rational decisions under those circumstances. It seems even the superior officers back on land have lost the ability to make decisions.
The whole movie has a sombre, resigned mood flowing throughout, and this gives it a pessimistic realism and inevitability.
The film differs from "Das Boot" however because it does not even start out optimistically. The officers on board are even more extremely "war damaged" and weary from the very beginning.
I particularly like the feel of the scenes above the surface, filmed on the U-boat and on the destroyer, with a low sun and long shadows.
Those scenes really do evoke the feeling of being out at sea on a late afternoon somewhere around the Northern stretches of the British Isles (according to the map in the movie, somewhere off Western Scotland). I think that fits the "end of the war" setting really well.
I should also mention that the Japanese characters really lend the film a great dignity.
So, I recommend for any fans of the genre to get your hands on this one. If you truly enjoy submarine movies, and don't mind a bit of historical or technical inaccuracies then you won't be disappointed.
The movie is also known in some territories as "Das Boot 2 - La Ultima Misión". But, I should mention that if you've seen "Das Boot", then I would say that "The Last U-boat" isn't really a sequel to that movie.
The budget, production values, and acting in "The Last U-boat" can't match that film, which is unsurprising since many would say (myself included) that "Das Boot" is indisputably the greatest U-boat film ever made. However, this does not matter at all, because "The Last U-boat" stands up perfectly well on its own, and has a whole different atmosphere about it.
I really like this film, as it succeeds in making you feel for the main characters, in particular, the German commander. There's a real believability in the seemingly nonsensical orders and allegiances the characters are faced with, and the near impossibility of making rational decisions under those circumstances. It seems even the superior officers back on land have lost the ability to make decisions.
The whole movie has a sombre, resigned mood flowing throughout, and this gives it a pessimistic realism and inevitability.
The film differs from "Das Boot" however because it does not even start out optimistically. The officers on board are even more extremely "war damaged" and weary from the very beginning.
I particularly like the feel of the scenes above the surface, filmed on the U-boat and on the destroyer, with a low sun and long shadows.
Those scenes really do evoke the feeling of being out at sea on a late afternoon somewhere around the Northern stretches of the British Isles (according to the map in the movie, somewhere off Western Scotland). I think that fits the "end of the war" setting really well.
I should also mention that the Japanese characters really lend the film a great dignity.
So, I recommend for any fans of the genre to get your hands on this one. If you truly enjoy submarine movies, and don't mind a bit of historical or technical inaccuracies then you won't be disappointed.