We're told in the opening credits that this is a true story and only two out of seven survive. We then move into a superb opening sequence of Allied bombing, which takes us neatly into the central story of trapped men.
The cast is excellent and the dark, gloomy and claustrophobic atmosphere is well done but, for me, the characters are insufficiently well-drawn. We are told very little about their background and how they arrived at this place. The sound recording leaves something to be desired and the dialogue is often unclear.
Having said that, this is a film which will stay with you, if you make the substantial effort required to watch it. As Sellers has said. "It's a film for connoisseurs of cinema. A very heavy movie, which could easily put you on a downer". My advice though is to make that effort.
One point of fact: the true story was actually one of seven German soldiers trapped in a food depot in Poland, blocked in, unknowingly, by their retreating comrades who dynamite the entrance.
The cast is excellent and the dark, gloomy and claustrophobic atmosphere is well done but, for me, the characters are insufficiently well-drawn. We are told very little about their background and how they arrived at this place. The sound recording leaves something to be desired and the dialogue is often unclear.
Having said that, this is a film which will stay with you, if you make the substantial effort required to watch it. As Sellers has said. "It's a film for connoisseurs of cinema. A very heavy movie, which could easily put you on a downer". My advice though is to make that effort.
One point of fact: the true story was actually one of seven German soldiers trapped in a food depot in Poland, blocked in, unknowingly, by their retreating comrades who dynamite the entrance.