War Sailor Review: An Intense and Dramatic Descent Into The Abyss | Krigsseileren Netflix Series
Cast: Kristoffer Joner, Pål Sverre Hagen, Ine Marie Wilmann
Creator: Gunnar Vikene
Streaming Platform: Netflix
Filmyhype.com Ratings: 4/5 (four stars) [yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
War Sailor (Krigsseileren) is a three-part Netflix limited series based on the true story of a multitude of Norwegian merchant ships forced to join the battle to save Britain from German attack in World War II. In 2022 the film War Sailor participated in many prestigious international festivals, winning the applause of many insiders. With a budget of over 11 million euros, it was the most expensive feature film in the history of Norwegian cinema: an investment, after all, more than proportionate to the importance of the story, which cast a glimpse into the lives and stories of some 30,000 sailors originally from Norway, forcibly enlisted on Allied ships, and forced to spend five years away from their homeland, occupied by Nazi Germany.
Recently, War Sailor (Krigsseileren) had the honor of representing his country in the Oscar race, while not receiving the media attention of All Quiet on the Western Front. However, things are about to change in the autumn Netflix became interested in the work and decided to turn it into a miniseries. War Sailor – The Series review. War Sailor explained by the creator Gunnar Vikene – was initially conceived as both a film and as a miniseries, and I just could not give up the idea of telling this story in both formats. During editing, we realized that a lot of material could not be part of the film, which is already much more than two hours long. Thankfully, Netflix has accepted the challenge.
War Sailor Review (Krigsseileren): The Story Plot
Alfred and Sigbjørn have been friends forever and live in the quiet Norwegian town of Bergen. We are in the summer of 1939, a few months after the start of the Second World War: work is still scarce at the port, and Sigbjørn convinces Alfred to embark with him as a sailor on a cargo ship bound for New York. Sigbjørn, however, is single, while Freddie has to leave behind his wife Cecilia and his three children: his daughter Maggie, in particular, is terrified of losing her father to an accident at sea and does everything to make him change ideas. Once set sail, the destinies of the two will intertwine with those of Hanna and the young Aksel, towards whom Freddie will become an authentic father figure, offering to teach him to swim and to write.
The outbreak of war will turn everything upside down: forcibly enlisted on British ships, the four will find themselves fighting daily with the fear of losing their lives when the news arrives from home that the Nazis have occupied Norway and built a factory of U- boat right in the heart of Bergen. From that moment, theirs will be an authentic odyssey in the Northern Seas, between the mortal danger of torpedoes and the continuous threat of German submarines. Time passes, and in a flurry of conflicting news both Freddie and his family will begin to believe they can never meet again. In 1948, after the war, Sigbjørn will track down his friend and, after much research, will find him again in Singapore… But what happened to the man he knew before he left?
War Sailor Review and Analysis
The performances of the cast of “War Sailor” are excellent. I’m sure you remember Kristoffer Joner from the first minutes of Mission: Impossible – Fallout And, with each passing minute of the miniseries, you will realize that he is one of the best actors working in show business. The way he interprets this sense of melancholy is amazing. Pål Sverre Hagen brings a sense of warmth to the humid and harsh atmosphere of the mini-series. Every time he appears on the screen, he starts to hope that things will work out for the best. Ine Marie Wilmann, who had already impressed me with the Norwegian film Netflix Troll, is truly extraordinary in the role of Cecilia. All the child and teen actors are very good, but Henrikke Lund Olsen stands out among them all. The rest of the cast, who make up the ships’ crew, stop looking like a group of actors after a while, giving the miniseries an almost documentary tone. However, of all people, I guess Leon Tobias Slettbakk’s performance as Aksel will remain etched in the memory, not only because of his performance but also because of what his character symbolizes.
The bottom line, War Sailor is a difficult view, especially if you are aware of all the wars being fought around the world as you read this sentence. Yes, I started this review by stating that the purpose of war dramas is to remind us that we shouldn’t resort to physical violence on a global scale. However, under the circumstances, I think we are past that point, and recalling the wars of the past to contextualize the present is a superfluous exercise. It’s a well-made and arguably well-intentioned miniseries. However, if you need a work of entertainment to realize the dire situation we are currently in, then you have already lost. Nonetheless, I muster every ounce of optimism I have to tell you to watch this tribute to Norwegian lives sacrificed.
Despite everything we’ve told you up to this point, War Sailor is by no means a war miniseries. At least, not in the conventional sense of the term. There are no spectacular action sequences, heroic deeds, or adrenaline-pumping fights: in the strictest respect for the survivors’ testimonies, we almost always find ourselves in the dark, between the kitchens and the engine room, and in a real war, during the three episodes, you can just see a glimpse of it. The rhythms are slow and deliberately dilated, but the excellent soundtrack by Volker Bertelmann contributes to keeping the tension high. The author’s project is solid and coherent: the focus of the narrative is firmly hinged on the experience of our two protagonists, their tenacious friendship, and their desperate struggle for survival.
There is not the slightest trace of rhetoric: Freddie and Sigbjørn do not embark to serve their country, nor do they decide to serve in the allied fleet driven by noble ideals and high principles. On the other hand, War Sailor – The Series is a simple and human story, which tells us about sailors who only dream of being able to go home and embrace the people they love again. And so, between long silences, letters to family members written and never sent, fear of dying, and stubborn courage, War Sailor‘s solid direction leads us by the hand into the darkest of abysses: the psyche of its protagonists. Without offering us revolutionary innovations, Gunnar Vikene signs an authentic and visceral drama, all played on the precarious balance between the obstinacy in doing one’s duty at any cost and the anguish of losing oneself and loved ones in the abyss of war.
A decisive contribution to the success of War Sailor – The Series comes from the excellent performance of the interpreter of Freddie, Kristoffer Joner, who manages to dig deep into his character with truly surprising expressiveness and intensity. Throughout the three episodes of the series, Joner goes far beyond the limited dialogues entrusted to him and fills with meaning the long moments of silence that mark the most important sequences. Overall, his performance is crucial in making credible and authentic work that is based entirely on the emotional charge of the experience of war, and the precarious balance between duty and fear. Alongside him, Pål Sverre Hagen and the other cast members prove to be more than up to their task and help us empathize with the fears and decisions of the various characters, giving intensity to the story.
Ultimately, War Sailor is a miniseries that confronts us with the unbearable weight of the consequences. Right from the opening sequence, set in Singapore in 1948, we learn that Freddie and Sigbjørn will manage to survive the war: it is therefore not on the anguish of death that the story of the three episodes is played, but on the tremendous transformation that a brutal and dark journey as that of the 30,000 Norwegian sailors will entail for the hearts and souls of the survivors.
The story ends in 1972, when the war is now a distant memory for the rest of the world: the horror, however, has never left poor Freddie’s mind, and will never go away. Inside him, something broke forever, after a terrible irony of fate upset the fate of him and that of his family. From a certain point of view, no man – soldier, sailor, doctor, or civilian – has returned home from the Second World War: in the case of the survivors, knocking on the door of the house was a radically changed individual, forever deprived of a fragment of his humanity. In its sad and nostalgic final act, War Sailor – The Series brings back the bitter and touching reflections of Primo Levi: were those survivors really that lucky?
War Sailor Review: The Last Words
War Sailor (Krigsseileren) Series is an intense and brutal journey into the depths of war, told through the never-before-seen perspective of Norwegian sailors. The extended version of Gunnar Vikene’s work is a historical testimony of great value, which speaks of friendship and family, and makes us reflect on the drama of the survivors. War Sailor is a Norwegian miniseries on Netflix that tells the difficult experience of two friends, Alfred and Sigbjørn, during the Second World War. The production is excellent, and the performances are of a high standard. Despite being a harsh view, the drama manages to convey an important message: remembering the wars of the past and doing our part to prevent further conflicts. The series is well-intentioned but underlines how the memory of past wars may now be insufficient to meet the challenges of the present.
