While *Das Boot* is certainly not a warmfuzzy feel-good film, there can be moments... as happened last week with my family. Imagine if you will, three people struggling with a flooded basement that wouldn't stop seeping. When we could do no more, we came up, turned on the TV-- and not only was *Das Boot* on cable, but the Gibraltar scenes!

At the end, we all felt much better, since as awful as our situation was, it really was just a non-life threatening mess. While I'm aware that Wolfgang Petersen meant to convey a more profound message with his masterpiece, it was just what we needed at that particular moment!

PatW