‘War Sailor’: a Maltese co-produced epic film that lives up to the title

Five stars for 'War Sailor'

War Sailor is one of the most horrifying war films in recent – and all – history as it explores the human cost that accompany war outside the battlegrounds; humanity torn down with the inescapable despair of lost souls.

When I think of war films, I tend to immediately jump to the sensationalised action/dramas that picture war as a gruesome bloodbath, battalions painting battlefields as cries for King and country are drowned out by sonic shrapnel.

I think of Dunkirk’s tense soundtrack that left nail marks on my cinema seat; of Saving Private Ryan’s Omaha Beach, and Apocalypse Now’s helicopter blades, but writer and director Gunnar Vikine tosses aside the impassioned patriotism for a more human story; one that is grounded in European sensibilities and is more compelling for it.

War Sailor, while firmly set in the throes of war, is a tragic epic that hones in on the effects that combat has outside the frontline and on those caught in conflicts that they don’t care for.

Norwegian lifelong friends and sailors Alfred (Kristoffer Joner) and Sigbjørn (Pål Sverre Hagen) are forced to enlist with the Allies, transporting ammunitions and supplies from Liverpool...