Having watched a steady stream of Christmas films for the past few weeks, I feel slightly guilty viewing anything that does not have Santa Claus or some kind of wintry romance.  Nonetheless, it is time to move on to other fare, though you can still look at seasonally appropriate films if you follow The Legionnaire on social media.  So, the question then becomes, what to see?  I have lately been looking at a number of videos on YouTube about submarines, so why not check out something about these underwater ships, or U-boats as the Germans called them?  That last bit should give you a clue as to where this is headed, if somehow you missed the title.  I also relate U-571 (2000) to a GEICO commercial in the back of my mind.  It claims that you know you are becoming like your parents if you start desiring to view movies and shows about submarines.  Since I am cool with my dad, I do not have a much of a problem with this prospect.  As for the film, well. . . .

It is 1942, and U-571 is a German U-boat fighting in the battle of the Atlantic on the side of the Nazis.  I will try not to trouble you with much history, although there are many flubs in this regard, but the long and short of it is that the conflict is not going well for the Allies.  Vessels like the eponymous submarine are sinking Allied shipping at an alarming rate as they attempt to cross the seas between the United States and Europe.  What the Allies need is the little, typewriter looking device by which the German navy communicates with its U-boats, which the Allies dub the “Enigma.”  By capturing it, which all Nazi submarines carry, they can break the German code and increase the survivability of an Atlantic crossing.  U-571 is no different in having one of these machines, but if you are familiar with how a vessel of this type operates, you will understand how tricky it is to get a hold of one.  It is made easier, however, when our title ship suffers damage from depth charges launched by a British destroyer and is forced to surface.  From there, it radios back to its base in Europe of its trouble, and asks that assistance be sent to them.  That transmission is intercepted by the Americans who are able to get a rough idea of U-571’s location and heading.  The goal is the Enigma, which means they must board their target while it is at the surface.  To approach the U-boat, the American navy sends one of its own submarines, S-33, captained by Lieutenant Commander Mike Dahlgren (Bill Paxton).  Still, they cannot motor up alongside an enemy ship and expect a warm welcome.  To accomplish their goal, they outfit S-33 to look like its German counterpart, as well as bringing along two German speaking men.  Thus readied, they head into the Atlantic and are able to locate their target without much trouble.  The U-boat even takes the American submarine for a German one, and several of the Nazi crew are topside to greet who they believe are their compatriots come to help them.  However, one of the Germans notices an American sailor carrying a gun, despite wearing German uniforms, and opens fire.  Now it is up to the boarding party, commanded by S-33’s executive officer, Lieutenant Andrew Tyler (Matthew McConaughey), to storm U-571 and find the Enigma.  They accomplish this, taking many prisoners.  Yet, as they rig the German submarine with explosives and are about to go back to their own submarine, S-33 is hit by a torpedo from the German ship sent to help.  A dying Lieutenant Commander Dahlgren signals to Lieutenant Tyler to go before he slips beneath the waves and dies.  The detonation is stopped, and with some help from their two German speakers, are able to figure out how to make the U-Boat operate even though, obviously, everything is labeled in German.  They also manage to sink the interloping U-boat before making their escape (a feat that only happened once in the course of naval warfare, but I digress).  Because of the poor state of U-571, Lieutenant Dahlgren has to plot the best course for them to follow.  Though he is initially indecisive, he eventually settles on England since it is nearest, though it will take them through water swarming with German U-boats.  As chance would have it, it is not another submarine that finds them, but a German destroyer, which is just as bad.  Lieutenant Tyler instructs his men to use of the U-571’s deck gun to take out the destroyer’s radio mast (which is a ridiculous notion) and orders a dive.  This is when the submarine is subjected to a barrage of depth charges that do further damage to the vessel.  In response, Lieutenant Tyler takes the submarine to dangerous depths, risking the integrity of the hull in order to escape the underwater explosions.  Meanwhile, he hopes to use his last remaining torpedo to take out the destroyer, but there are some issues with these plans.  First, the last remaining torpedo tube is not getting the necessary pressure it needs to send the underwater missile on its way.  Secondly, the depth charges nearly sink U-571, and only another round of heroic repairs gets the boat to begin rising to the surface.  Yet, they cannot control their ascent and the tube is still not working.  Thus, Lieutenant Tyler sends the diminutive, relatively speaking, Seaman Ted “Trigger” Fitzgerald to squeeze into the flooded compartment to turn the necessary lever to make the torpedo operate.  He accomplishes this just before he drowns, and as the submarine begins to be shelled by the destroyer.  The torpedo hits its mark, sinking the destroyer, but not before the German boat damages U-571 to the point that Lieutenant Tyler orders his remaining men to abandon ship.  They float in the Atlantic for a while before being spotted by an American seaplane, which apparently means their rescue.

Aside from the issues I mentioned parenthetically about U-571, when Lieutenant Tyler’s men take the German submarine by force, I kept thinking what a stupid idea it is to be firing guns inside a pressurized metal tube.  Needless to say, they took creative license with the history.  What is less of a departure from reality is the way that Chief Gunner’s Mate Henry Klough (Harvey Keitel) describes how a commander of a ship at sea must behave.  Much of how he talks about it could also be applied to God.  A captain must be all-knowing and all-powerful, which is, of course, traits that only God possesses.  However, in a more limited sense, you can see how imbuing a mere mortal with these qualities is important for a person in charge of a ship crossing the oceans.  Under the most calm and peaceful conditions, such voyages can be fraught with dangers.  In order to accomplish them safely, they need a person who not only has the requisite skills, but also the force of character and leadership to make sure his orders are followed.  At the beginning of the movie, Lieutenant Tyler is up for promotion, but is blocked by Lieutenant Commander Dahlgren.  The reason for this is because the senior officer does not believe his junior, despite an impressive service record, is ready for such an important position.  Another reason cited is Lieutenant Tyler’s familiarity with the rank and file.  In life-or-death situations, a captain must put people in positions that might cost them their lives, and it is a lesson Lieutenant Tyler learns in a painful way at the end.  God can bring us similar moments, and we should be ready to say yes to them even at the risk of life or limb.  It is not an easy decision by any stretch of the imagination, but it can be the difference between eternal life or eternal damnation.

What I said in the last paragraph about what U-571 and what it has to say about leadership sounds stark.  I stand by those statements, though I do not intend them in a harsh sense.  What I have trouble taking seriously overall is this movie.  As I said, I have been watching a lot of stuff recently about submarines, and along with my previous knowledge of history, made what I saw silly.  If you ever want to learn about the real stories on which these are based, go to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago and visit its display of U-505, which is mentioned in the post-credits of this film.