The Boat Is Full

Inspired by Switzerland's practice of deporting German refugees during World War II, Markus Imhoof's The Boat Is Full—a 1982 Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Film—is a powerful story focusing on six people: four Jews, a French boy, and a German Army deserter, who resort to subterfuge to escape just such a fate. Escaping across the border into Switzerland, the group is given shelter by an innkeeper who insists that they pretend to be a family as a way of avoiding suspicion. To this end, the young Jewish woman (Tina Engel) poses as the wife of the deserter (Gerd David), who comes from a culture that gave rise to the madman responsible for killing millions of her race. Such ironies abound in this carefully crafted, dramatically engaging film, which challenges the longstanding myth of Switzerland's absolute neutrality during WWII and features uniformly fine performances—particularly by Curt Bois (a veteran character actor who appeared in Casablanca) as an elderly Viennese refugee. DVD extras include an interview with the director and a 'making-of' featurette. Recommended. (E. Hulse) [Blu-ray/DVD Review—Dec. 31, 2019—Kino Lorber, 104 min., in German w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $19.95, Blu-ray: $29.95—Making its latest appearance on DVD and debut on Blu-ray, 1981’s The Boat is Full features a good transfer and a DTS-HD 5.1 soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition. Extras include an interview with director Markus Imhoof (18 min.). Bottom line: this Oscar nominee shines on Blu-ray.]