NR | 1h 48m | war drama, action | 2024
Here is a trick question: Which American service branch suffered the highest casualty rate during World War II? It was the U.S. Merchant Marine, who come under military jurisdiction during times of war.
This was also was true for Norway’s heroic merchant marine during World War II. While their regular military fared poorly against Germany, the Norwegian merchant fleet regularly delivered critical armaments to the Russians (once they joined the Allies), at a considerable human cost. Out of 30,000 Norwegian marine-conscripts, 4,000 were lost in action.
PQ 17
The events of this film are directly inspired by the ill-fated convoy, code-named PQ 17, in June 1942. For reasons unknown to Capt. Martin Skar (Anders Baasmo), who is as rough-hewn as his name suggests, the convoy’s military escort withdraws. The remaining merchant ships are ordered to scatter, presumably to make their way back to port in Iceland, where the flotilla originated.Skar believes this could still be his crew’s finest hour, but he doesn’t think they need to know the details. The captain orders his freshly assigned first officer, former captain Oliver Mork (Tobias Santelmann) to continue on-course for Murmansk.
Skar dismisses Mork’s reservations, largely attributing them to timidity stemming from the tragic loss of the ship he recently skippered. For this reason, much of the crew also distrusts Mork, associating him with bad luck. Regardless, Skar cannot long hide the reality of the situation from the crew’s eyes when they see other ships in the convoy burning and sinking from German bombs.
Soon Skar’s crew must also fend off attacks. Fortunately, Johan the Swede (Adam Lundgren) has a lethal reputation; he has a long record of kills operating the civilian ship’s military-grade anti-aircraft gun. In fact, he intentionally ships out on Norwegian vessels to aid the Allied war effort rather than remain in his neutral nation.
It’s still a tough, nearly impossible fight without heavy destroyer support. When the ship suffers critical engine damage and the captain is injured, Mork must assume command. At that point, he opts for a risky gambit to buy time.
Screenwriters Christian Siebenherz, Lars Gudmestad, and Harald Rosenlow-Eeg vividly illustrate the perils braved by merchant seamen during World War II, whose heroics have long been under-appreciated by the general public. Perhaps, the best-known film to previously depict the convoy experience from the merchant marine perspective was 1943’s “Action in the North Atlantic.” Starring Humphrey Bogart, this film was also partly inspired by the PQ 17 incident.
Indeed, the dramatic circumstances of civilian sailors serving in a military context, undoubtedly in harm’s way, are what make the film so compelling. However, Dahlsbakken has mixed success building towards a suspenseful climax.
He is better at conveying Mork’s inner conflicts than staging epic battle sequences. This is somewhat surprising, since “The Arctic Convoy” was produced by the team behind the popular Norwegian disaster movies, “The Wave,” “The Quake,” and “The Burning Sea.” Nevertheless, most of the film’s audience can relate to this approach through on-demand home-viewing, with its smaller, personal, sailor-level scale.
Heroic Characters
Santelmann is terrific as Mork. Although he is haunted by past demons, he’s still capable of heroism. In fact, when he explains the source of his caution, it is quite harrowing. It also supplies a reality check regarding the Soviets’ callous disregard for all human life. This included their allies, even though their Norwegian allies fought and died to resupply them. All the film’s heroism comes from the convoy’s Norwegian countrymen, and none from the unseen, unappreciative Soviets.Baasmo certainly has the right physical appearance and screen presence for a salty sea-wolf, Skar. He’s appropriately grizzled and blustery, but he still humanizes the old captain. Late in the film, Skar and Mork start to open up to each other, at least a little.
Lundgren is suitably intense as the driven Swede, while Heidi Ruud Ellingsen helps ground the film as Ragnhild, the brusque, no-nonsense surviving radio-operator. Her service on in otherwise all-male crew seems somewhat unlikely, especially since they are sailing into dangerous waters.
All service branches deserve their equivalent of the rousing depiction of the Army Air Force in “Masters of the Air,” including the U.S. Merchant Marine. This film proves just how perilous merchant seaman service was during WWII, for all Allied nations, including Norway.
Recommended for its depiction of the average Norwegian sailors’ courage and sacrifice.
