The Boat Is Full (Das Boot ist Voll) (1981)

Based on a true story and historical records of Jews who attempted to flee the Holocaust into neutral Switzerland, The Boat Is Full (Das Boot Ist Voll) has nothing to do with boats or those in boats choosing who will survive and who will be left behind. Here the boat is metaphorical. The Boat Is Full does, however, have everything to do with the many reasons and rationalizations whereby human beings of every stripe choose to either help others or toss them off as human detritus (and convince themselves and others that it's the only sensible thing to do). This movie is less about the action of escape than about the mental and verbal gymnastics required to rationalize inaction on behalf of one's fellow beings, esp. those who are persecuted by a neighboring totalitarian state that extends an enmeshed complicity into even a neutral government. (The boundaries of one's own security are murky when you sit next to a bully who may unilaterally turn almost any action or inaction into a provocation.) During all that happens to our "family" of refugees, we see the character of those around them and hear their words. (Are Jews equal to or "less than" us? Do we feed and talk with them or grouse about them in and out of their presence? Do we comply with authorities even when the situation is insidious? Do we allow for a change of heart?) This is not a plodding movie but it has a methodical pace. It paints a picture of society halfway between a mob lynch scene (as when Jesus meets Pilate in The Passion of the Christ) and a courtroom scene (as in Twelve Angry Men) -- and that, to me, is the epitome of drama and suspense. This movie has been digitally restored and was released internationally in 1981. I obtained it from a competing service since it has not been in stock here for quite some time. 4 stars.