U
Tags: psychedelic, romantic

Plot synopsis:
After sinking a merchant ship from an Allied convoy, German U-boat U-571 has her engines badly damaged by depth charges from a British destroyer. U-571's skipper Kapitänleutnant Gunther Wassner makes a distress call that is intercepted by American intelligence, so the US Navy has submarine S-33 modified to resemble a German resupply U-boat to steal the Enigma coding device and sink the U-571. As the crew of S-33 receive their assignment, the submarine's executive officer Lieutenant Tyler is unhappy about his promotion being blocked by commanding officer Lieutenant Commander Dahlgren.
During a storm, S-33's boarding party surprises and overwhelms the crew of U-571. After securing U-571, the American S-33 is torpedoed by the German resupply sub that was sent to aid U-571. Lieutenant Commander Dahlgren is blown off the deck of S-33 and seriously wounded, while struggling to stay afloat he refuses rescue and orders the boarding party on the captured U-boat to submerge. Lieutenant Tyler takes command of U-571 and dives below the surface where they engage and sink the resupply sub in an underwater battle.
After making repairs and restoring power Tyler decides to route the disabled submarine to Land's End in Cornwall, England. They are spotted by a German reconnaissance plane which is unaware that U-571 has been commandeered by Americans; a nearby German destroyer sends over a small contingent but right before boarders arrive, Tyler gives orders to fire a shot from the deck gun, destroying the German destroyer's radio room, and preventing it from reporting the capture of a German sub and its Enigma machine and code books. The sub dives underneath the German destroyer, which then begins to drop depth charges to sink U-571. U-571's original master Kapitänleutnant Wassner escapes captivity and kills one of Tyler's crew but he is subdued before he can sabotage the boat's engines.
Tyler attempts to trick the destroyer into stopping its attack by ejecting debris and a corpse out of a torpedo tube, faking their own destruction, however the German destroyer continues dropping depth charges. The crew then realizes that Kapitänleutnant Wassner, despite being shackled, is using Morse Code tapping to signal to the destroyer that the submarine was captured and knock him out. U-571, hiding at below 600 feet (180 m), is damaged by the high water pressure. Control of the main ballast tanks is lost and the ship ascends uncontrollably. Tyler orders crewman Trigger to submerse himself in the bilge underwater to repressurize the torpedo tubes.
Trigger uses an air hose to enter the flooded compartment. He closes the air valve to the torpedo tubes, but a second leak and broken valve are found, which Trigger can't reach. U-571 surfaces heavily damaged and begins to flood, unable to fire its last torpedo from its stern tubes. The destroyer gives chase and fires upon U-571 with its main guns; the first hit causes pipes to collapse, pinning Trigger's leg, after he has left the air hose behind. Unable to turn back, he reaches for the valve and closes it before he dies. The second the pressure is available, Tyler orders Tank to fire the final torpedo. The German destroyer is unable to take evasive action and is sunk. As the crew sigh in relief, Tank reports Trigger's death. U-571 has taken severe damage and will not remain afloat for long. The crew abandons the submarine with the Enigma in their possession. The crew watch U-571 as she slips beneath the waves. Floating aboard an inflatable lifeboat, they are eventually rescued by a US Navy PBY Catalina flying boat.

Review: filled with wonder. How good it is to wake up and remember that animation does not mean Hollywood only. In the last years, we had Japanese Ghibli studios (soon under Disney's control apparently?!), Sylvain Chomet's Belleville triplettes and MICHEL OSLO (loved Azur & Asmar !!). I'm now discovering U by GRÉGOIRE SOLOTAREFF & SERGE ELISSALDE and falling in love with U. What a wonderful story ! After a couple of minutes you are not looking at a film anymore, you feel part of this colorful family, listening to their welcoming, friendly and warm-hearted chat. Little story, no showing-off but what a major film at the end. You can look find a lot of different things in this movie but even if you are just waiting for a bit of entertainment you will love it too. I know that you are probably struggling to keep a different animation style alive (this water-color is so vivid and full of life) and I wanted to thank you for keep trying. I'm not saying Pixar or Dreamworks are crap, but just that need something else too to keep being filled with wonder. Cheers guys !. Walt Disney on Acid: U. Anyone who complains about a lack of creativity in or an actual lack of 2D animation has but to go to France. Two of the films I have seen from the French animation scene in the last few years, The Triplets of Belleville and this film, U, are about as unconventional as you can get. And by "unconventional" I mean "really freaking trippy".U is not as good as The Triplets of Belleville, but it's quite a touching tale of loneliness, acceptance, and growing up. U, a little unicorn, becomes a part of Mona's life when she's very young. Mona is a mouse, by the way. She lives with her father and grand-mother (who is mean, as many kids sitting around me were generous enough to point out about a hundred times). Their existence is shaken up with the arrival of the Ouais-Ouais (Yeah-Yeahs, if translated literally), who are I don't what the hell they are, actually. One of a lizard, another is a cat, that I know.In a way, U represents Mona's innocence, which is taken away by one of the new arrivals. I was surprised to see surprisingly frank and almost sexy scenes in a film for young kids, but then I remember that it's from France. Here in Geneva the film is rated 0, which means anyone can come see it. I don't quite agree with that. A neighboring state has it rated 7 and up, which is more correct. There isn't much of a story, but most of it is metaphoric anyway, I guess. The grand-mother's intolerance of the new arrivals can be considered a good analogy for conservative Europeans who reject any new cultures coming into their countries.It's all good and well, but it still made the film slightly unpleasant to watch at times. And the fact that the grand-mother has to DIE for everyone to finally be happy and be able to do what they want is a little disturbing, but often very much true. I've known and heard about many parents who were strict to the point that their death elicited a few tears, sure, but mostly a sigh of relief.There's a certain complexity behind the film's gorgeous imagery and narrative simplicity, and in the end the good outweighs the bad. So if you're looking for something different in animation, or are just tired of your kids watching The Little Mermaid for the 50th time, take a look The Triplets of Belleville and U. Any kind of mind-altering substance beforehand is also recommended.7/10