The Sinking of the Laconia (2010)

series

(1201)

Country: Germany, UK
Genres: Drama, History
Release: 2011-01-05
Director: N/A
Writers: N/A
Language: English | German
Stars: Andrew Buchan , Ken Duken , Lindsay Duncan (I) , Thomas Kretschmann , Franka Potente , Jodi Balfour , Nicholas Burns , Jacob Matschenz , Ciarán McMenamin , Matthias Koeberlin
Runtime: min
Awards: Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award4 nominations total
AKA: Le naufrage du Laconia (France, French Republic) , Крушение Лаконии (Russian Federation) , Laconia, el hundimiento (Spain) , The Sinking of the Laconia (United States of America) , The Sinking of the Laconia (United Kingdom) , Cum s-a scufundat Laconia (Romania) , A Laconia elsüllyesztése (Hungary) , L'affondamento del Laconia - 12 settembre 1942 (Italy) , Laconia (Germany) , ラコニア号知られざる戦火の奇跡 (Japan) , The Sinking of the Laconia (South Africa) , Zatopienie Laconii (Poland) , The Sinking of the Laconia , Sänkningen av Laconia (Sweden)
Plot: Six hundred miles from the coast of Africa, in September 1942, a German U-boat, U-156, sinks the British troopship Laconia carrying 1,800 Italian POWs, 80 British civilians, and 268 Polish and British soldiers. After realising that there were POWs and civilians on-board, and that they are facing certain death without rescue, U-Boat Commander Werner Hartenstein (Duken) makes a decision goes against the orders of Nazi high command. The U-boat surfaces and Hartenstein instructs his men to save as many of the shipwrecked survivors as they can. Over the next few days U-156 saved 400 people, with 200 people crammed on board the surface-level submarine and another 200 in lifeboats. Hartenstein gave orders for messages to be sent out to the Allies to organise a rescue of the survivors, but they were spotted by American B-24 Liberator bombers which moved in to attack. The Sinking of the Laconia takes a look at the human side of the remarkable events that took place: the friendships that developed, the small acts of heroism, and the triumph of the human spirit in the most incredible of situations.
IMDB:tt1504261