The Commander
Seen it?2023 | 120 min | War, History, Drama
Weeknight WatchWhy it’s a Weeknight Watch
With almost no lasting buzz and middling reviews (41% on Rotten Tomatoes), it's a mixed bag. Fine if it's on; don't plan your night around it.
Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.Is it for you?
- Who'll love it
- Made for history buffs. If you loved Greyhound or Lifeboat, start here. Audiences love it more than critics do: a crowd-pleaser first.
- The mood
- Intense.
- The pace
- Takes its time with its characters, at 2 hr.
- What might put you off
- It's in Italian, so expect subtitles (or a dub).
One dark night during the early phases of WWII, the Italian Royal Navy submarine Cappellini sinks an armed merchant ship sailing with lights out. At that moment, its commander Salvatore Todaro makes a decision that was destined to go down in history: to save the 26 shipwrecked Belgians who otherwise would have drowned in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and disembark them at the nearest safe harbor. To make room for them on board his submarine, he is forced to navigate on the surface of the water for three days, visible to the enemy forces and endangering his life and that of his men.
How it earned its rating
- CriticsBelow par
41% on Rotten Tomatoes, 43 on Metacritic
- AudiencesSolid
6.9 out of 10
- AwardsNot counted
No major awards or nominations
- Box office & staying powerBelow par
$4 million worldwide on a $15 million budget; still draws a steady audience long after release
- Buzz & cultural impactWeak
About 18K people sought it out in the past year
Trailer
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Cast & crew
Directed by Edoardo De Angelis
- Pierfrancesco FavinoSalvatore Todaro
- Massimiliano RossiVittorio Marcon
- Johan HeldenberghGeorges Vogels
- Silvia D'AmicoRina Todaro
- Arturo MuselliDanilo Stiepovich
- Giuseppe BrunettiGigino Magnifico
- Gianluca Di GennaroVincenzo Stumpo
- Johannes WirixJacques Reclercq
- Pietro AngeliniIvano Leandri
- Mario RussoSalvatore Minniti