The film “Comandante” is tragically current. Watch it but don't be misled by rhetoric or politically correct: it's about our country, today more than yesterday.
Speaking strictly about the film, we are witnessing a titanic effort in terms of production: 15 million euros, or less than half of the famous "Das Boot" (from us Submarine 96) by Wolfgang Petersen but made with just as much talent. An enormity for an Italian film.
Go and see it with a recommendation: do it only if NOT you are aware of the logic of the Italian Defense, then and now. The risk is to see the last moments pass, like us, in tears...
The epic of the Italian submariners at war is characterized by two aspects: heroism ed inadequacy.
The military of any country on the planet is by definition ready to face an adversary. Our people today also have to deal with those who stab them in the back, debasing them (in deeds or tasks, if not even in words) and sabotaging them again (in terms of equipment).
Most of the Italian submariners did NOT drown, crushed or mangled by their opponents and their determination to fight... they died by submarines that took up to 2 minutes (!) to submerge versus the 30 seconds (!!!) of the German ones, which had speed on the surface often lower even than the (slow) merchant ships they were supposed to intercept, which had noisy engines which made them easily identifiable by adversary hydrophones, with maximum operating depths clearly lower than the others and - so as not to miss anything - imprecise torpedoes, unreliable and easily identifiable.
Today, as far as "submarines" are concerned (submarines no longer exist in the military sector) a long time ago we decided to collaborate (more correctly "build under license" as regards the hulls) with German companies and - finally - we can boast the state of the art.
For the rest, the tankers' anthem still seems to apply "What does it matter if the enemy is strong, we will make up for it with willpower!" Where "to make up for" means and will mean "to compensate by dying", leaving guilty (or accomplices) fat men to recite the ritual commemorative speeches at state funerals.
The hope is that the slaps seen in "Commander" can be a deterrent for someone. Otherwise the queue (see scene) will not be limited to a few dozen people, it will be 60 million citizens long.
