3 Short Paragraphs: Black Crab

2022,  Adam Berg (producer Tales From the Loop) -- Netflix

Was it appropriate that Netflix released a fictionalized European-based war movie while a very real war is going on in Europe? I cannot answer that question for you, but I personally found it cathartic in a small way. Fictional warfare is much more easily digested than the imagery coming from the news today. But it can allow you to be exposed to a more individual experience instead of the overall arching that news gives.

Black Crab is a Swedish film that takes place during an unexplained war in the Norwegian countries, but is vague about saying exactly where and between whom, but one can assume Sweden and Norway or maybe even civil war. But it has devastated the countryside and dragged most civilians able to carry a gun into the war. Edh (Noomi Rapace, Prometheus) is tasked with delivering a package across the waters around a frozen archipelago, along with a small squad, all skilled in skating. In return she will be reunited with her daughter. It is considered a suicide mission across enemy controlled territory but essential to the war effort, as her side is losing. 

This is a fucking bleak movie, but should war movies be anything but? Most critics describe it as "post-apocalyptic" but its not, there was no apocalypse, just the very familiar destruction and brutality of modern warfare. And there are hints that like all recent wars in Europe, the rest of the world just trundles along. But it is dark and gritty, literally taking place most often at night, and is filled with horrific, sometimes awe striking, imagery. Berg does a tight job of moving the story along, one where soldiers balance the duty they feel, the anger against the enemy, and the idea of winning at all costs. And, of course, Rapace is always compelling to watch.