The Swedish Connection Parent Guide

It is 1942, and nearly all of Europe has fallen under Hitler’s boot. Sweden has avoided direct occupation by claiming neutrality, selling arms and ore to the Nazis and allowing them to transit freely though Swedish territory. Foreign Ministry lawyer Gösta Engzell (Henrik Dorsin) is more or less content with his position, which mostly consists of stalling politically sensitive visa applications, and at this point in the war, most of those files are from Jewish people looking to escape the Holocaust. 

German officials have been leaning heavily on the Swedish government to mind their own business, given their declarations of neutrality. However, when the Nazis start rounding up Jewish residents in Norway, they also seize several Swedish citizens. Gösta has been able to ignore the rumors about Nazi atrocities, but now the evidence is to great to ignore, and his own staff are becoming disturbed – especially his assistant Rut Vogl (Sissela Benn), a German woman with a better idea what’s going on behind the lines. Gösta is going to have to decide what to do, and he’s going to have to decide fast.

Based on a true story and with a serious historical subject, the film struggles to maintain any kind of tone. That’s largely due to the little zany screwball moments the script keeps packing in, including a character breaking the fourth wall in the first ten minutes, an issue not helped by the lighthearted soundtrack. Worse, the movie is simply boring. Our protagonist is a very understated bureaucrat who only seems to make decisions when they’re suggested by other people and spends almost all his time in a cramped basement office. 

I’m not suggesting the screenwriters should have sent Gösta across Stockholm in a dramatic car chase, but the film could have prioritized other interesting aspects of the story. For instance, diplomat Göran von Otter (Johan Glans), another historical figure, features prominently in the film, and his scenes are far more compelling. He’s in Berlin, meeting Nazi officials and trying to gather information, surrounded by jackbooted SS thugs and the muddy evil of administrators and executives. 

Parents have little to worry about here, aside from a few brief profanities and references to the Holocaust. There’s no on-screen violence, sexual content, or drug use, and characters are only briefly seen smoking cigarettes or drinking alcohol at social events. The Swedish Connection isn’t a great choice for younger viewers though, both because it makes a bit of a muddle of the history and because it’s not particularly well put together. There’s a fascinating story in here about bravery in the face of danger, evil disguised in policy and bureaucracy, and even Sweden’s tenuous position during the war – but that’s not what we see in the muddled movie on the screen. 

About author

Keith Hawkes

Keith Hawkes graduated from Mount Royal University, Calgary, Canada with a degree in English and History. His interests are movies, American literature, science fiction, almost every kind of music, and museums. He enjoys criticizing films for fun - although he's okay with being paid for it.