Black Crab Parent Guide

A civil war in Sweden has destroyed much of the country. Rumors of atrocities and massacres follow refugees through the collapsing infrastructure. What remains of the formal government has been struggling to hold out, but things are looking grim, and it’s unlikely that they’ll be able to continue for long.

When the war began, Caroline Edh (Noomi Rapace) was just another concerned mother, but since being separated from her daughter, she’s become a fierce soldier. And she has a new assignment. Seeing an opportunity in a recent freeze, the government plans to send a select group of skilled ice skaters across the open ice to deliver a package to a secret research station well behind enemy lines. If the ice doesn’t break, and the enemy don’t find them out in the open, they’ve been promised all manner of rewards, but the only one that Caroline cares about is the guarantee that her daughter has been rescued and is being kept at the facility. All that remains for her is to make the trek…if she and her team can survive.

Black Crab is ambiguous about the details of the war – who started it, what the factions want out of it, how long it’s lasted, even where in the country it takes place. While this helps focus the story on the characters and their unimaginably difficult journey, it can be a little too vague. I like the moral uncertainties that this introduces but it makes the consequences a little nebulous. Had the script made those consequences a little clearer, the story might have had a little more momentum.

As with most war movies, the biggest problems for parents here are going to be violence and profanity. Individuals are frequently shot, including unarmed civilians, and other characters are stabbed, blown up, and in some cases, kill themselves. That’s paired with a fair bit of cussing – in the original Swedish with English subtitles, I counted 17 f-bombs. I imagine it’s a comparable number in the English dub.

Of course, with world events being what they are right now, this might not be the most entertaining watch. If you like some escapism in your movies, the scenes of devastation and tragedy in the film might just look too much like the evening news for you to enjoy. If you can get past some of the real-world similarities, however, this is an intense, well made action flick. Noomi Rapace in the lead role is certainly worth the price of admission, bringing a great deal of emotional depth to the film – without detracting from the fast-paced action scenes. It’s not perfect, but it is exciting. What more do you want?