For years, the television drama Band of Brothers has set the benchmark for war-themed dramas. Created by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, the series is considered the gold standard of the genre, having raised the bar exponentially for war epics. Now, another war drama is being hailed as a 'phenomenal masterpiece' — and it might just surpass Band of Brothers.
A Little-Known Gem on Netflix
Streaming on Netflix, the little-known war drama limited series consists of three episodes, each spanning roughly an hour. Praise for the show has been universal. War Sailor, originally titled Krigsseileren, is a Norwegian war drama that was selected as Norway's official entry for Best International Feature at the 95th Academy Awards — and viewers cannot stop singing its praises.
It originally released as a film in the latter half of 2022. When it finally made its way onto Netflix in April 2023, it appeared as a three-part miniseries with 30 minutes added to its original runtime. Written and directed by Gunnar Vikene, it happens to be the most expensive Norwegian film ever made, produced on a budget of $11.1 million.
Cast and True Story
The drama stars Kristoffer Joner and Pål Sverre Hagen in the lead, alongside Ine Marie Wilmann, Henrikke Lund Olsen, Armand Hannestad, and Leon Tobias Slettbakk. War Sailor is based on the true, real-life stories of 30,000 Norwegian civilian sailors who were part of the Allied convoys during the Second World War. The official plot states: 'Merchant sailors are caught in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean during Germany's invasion of Norway and hijacked into working for the Allied war effort.'
Critical and Audience Acclaim
With a smashing 92% audience approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, War Sailor has been described as 'heart-in-your-throat moving' by audiences. One IMDb user review says: 'One of the best war movies I've seen. I thought I'd seen so many war and catastrophe movies I'd become numb to the emotional drama and could only be stimulated by history lessons and battlefield action, but this one gripped me.'
Another viewer said: 'Intense but phenomenal. It's difficult to sum up the experience of watching this film. It weaves suspense, devastation, love, hope, and the horrors of war together into a picture that will stay with me for a long time to come.' A third audience review added: 'Brilliantly written, directed and acted, this is a gripping, at times excruciating, film. The characters are beautifully, painfully individual, the story unexpected and painfully convincing. It takes us inside the actions of war but the unforgettable moments are the still ones in which nothing happens but meaning.'
One viewer dubbed it 'a masterpiece': 'Wow - what an intense film. Excellent acting and period sets. A masterpiece.' Another review says: 'A sweeping epic. Structured like a sweeping epic, Krigsseileren tells about the efforts of Norwegian commercial sailors in the Atlantic theatre during WWII. A combination of authenticity, technical brilliance, and a clear artistic framework makes this into an all-encompassing viewing experience.'
One fan said the drama 'transcends the ordinary': 'Something Extraordinary Finds its Way to Our Screens. Just when we thought nothing of quality is left, nothing worth our time, what we have left of it, War Sailor shows up on Netflix. As real a depiction of events which shaped our world as you are likely to see. Transportation to another place and time at a historic moment in history, for the price of your Netflix subscription. Empowering performances that transcend the ordinary. Highly recommended.'
Critics called the war drama 'powerful and engrossing', with one reviewer writing: 'War Sailor is the best kind of war movie: a character drama that happens amidst war, focusing most on how the characters are changed by the atrocities over the years.' Another critic said: 'War Sailor offers some of the best ensemble acting seen in recent years. It's been perfectly cast down to the smallest role.'
Where to Watch
War Sailor is available to stream on Netflix.
