Torpedo (2019)

During the height of World War II, commander Stan and a courageous group of resistance fighters are given a suicide mission to deliver a stolen Nazi submarine filled with atomic uranium. ... See full summary »

Director:

Sven Huybrechts

Writers:

Johan Horemans, Sven Huybrechts

Stars:

Koen De Bouw, Thure Riefenstein, Ella-June Henrard

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Koen De Bouw	...	Stan
Thure Riefenstein	...	Kapitänleutnant Franz Jäger
Ella-June Henrard	...	Nadine
Joren Seldeslachts	...	Filip
Sven De Ridder	...	Klisse
Stefan Perceval	...	Tamme
Bert Haelvoet	...	Fons
Rudy Mukendi	...	Jenga
Gilles De Schryver	...	Van Praag
Robrecht Vanden Thoren	...	Werner
Vic de Wachter	...	Kapitein Maes
Martin Semmelrogge	...	Kriechbaum
Stefan Weinert	...	German Officer
Ansgar Sinnecker	...	German Officer Mayer
Hervé Masquelier	...	Minister Pirard

Storyline

During the height of World War II, commander Stan and a courageous group of resistance fighters are given a suicide mission to deliver a stolen Nazi submarine filled with atomic uranium. Hunted down by Hitler's army, the motley crew must outwit and outmaneuver relentless German destroyers and more powerful submarine killers which will stop at nothing to send the U-boat to the bottom of the ocean before it reaches safe shores in America.

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Plot Keywords:

submarine | u boat | submarine movie | war at sea | claustrophobic setting | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | History | War

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Did You Know?

Trivia

The U-boat in the film is called U-235. The first atomic bomb dropped "Little Boy" was made using enriched Uranium 235.

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Goofs

When Nadine is about to get drowned with full of water in her room and her friends able to open room's door, water entered second room with only under the door, which was impossible. All water should like explode to other room, also with open side of submarine, water should still get in submarine after opening the door.

User Reviews

another sub gem

Greetings again from the darkness. "Desperate times, desperate measures" is a phrase that dates back to ancient Greek physician Hippocrates (he of the Hippocratic Oath), and has been applied in many and varied situations since ... war strategy being one of the most common. We hear the phrase a couple of times in the War Room during an early scene in the feature film directorial debut of writer-director Sven Huybrechts submarine movie. The term "submarine movie" is used with the utmost respect, as I'm a huge fan of the sub-genre.

Opening with a well-orchestrated attack on Nazi soldiers, we are soon in the midst of a group of resistance fighters - a rag tag bunch committed to wiping out as many Nazis as possible. In the War Room scene, this group is referred to as "The Bad Eggs", and everyone from all sides seems to want them stopped. However, there is a problem - this group is made up of the only ones crazy enough to accept the current 'suicide' mission: delivering a Uranium filled submarine from the Belgian Congo to the United States, where the cargo will be used for the Manhattan Project.

The cast is excellent, led by the ongoing conflict between two outstanding and renowned leads: Belgian actor Koen De Bouw as Nazi-hater Stan, and German actor Thure Riefenstein as captured U-Boat Captain Franz Jager. Co-writers Huybrechts and Johan Horemans effectively use the dangers and claustrophobia of the submarine, and are truly expert in their pitting Stan against Jager. Stan's beautiful (and sharpshooter) daughter Nadine (Ella-June Henrard) is also on the mission, but it's Stan's tragic backstory (which we see in tension-filled flashbacks) that have filled him with a lust for revenge and over-protectiveness.

Training for submarine crews typically lasts a year, and this group of misfits has only three weeks to prepare. Some of the early soundtrack reminds of the iconic Elmer Bernstein theme to THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, which comes across a bit misplaced, but that's a minor quibble for a film that gets most everything else right - except for a too-good-to-be-true sequence near the end. Along the way, we see vivid images of the brutality and cruelty of Nazis, which helps us understand why all of these folks are so committed to the mission.

Working with a low budget, the film still manages to deliver the danger and tense situations we expect from a submarine during WWII. There is even a sub vs sub battle for some underwater action. The lineup of other worthy submarine movies over the years include: Jules Verne's 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA (1954), THE ENEMY BELOW (1957) with Robert Mitchum, RUN SILENT, RUN DEEP (1958) with Clark Gable and Burt Lancaster, ICE STATION ZEBRA (1968) based on the Alistair MacLean novel, the nerve-rattling DAS BOOT (1981) from Werner Herzog, THE ABYSS (1989) from James Cameron, THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER (1990) from Tom Clancy's novel starring Sean Connery, CRIMSON TIDE (1995) pitting Denzel Washington against Gene Hackman, U-571 (2000) with the great Thomas Kretschmann, and BLACK SEA (2014) with Jude Law. And let's not forget the 1968 classic featuring The Beatles animated, YELLOW SUBMARIINE.

This latest begins in 1941 and the final scene takes place on August 6, 1945. Huybrechts's film could be described as a cross between INGLORIOUS BASTERDS and DAS BOOT, and it includes plenty of material for conversation on race, religion, nationality, and duty.

Details

Official Sites:

Atlas International Film [Germany] Epic Pictures [United States]

Country:

Belgium

Language:

Dutch English German

Release Date:

19 May 2020 (USA)

Also Known As:

Torpedo

Filming Locations:

Belgium

Company Credits

Production Co:

A Team Productions, Column Film, Atlas International Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1