REVIEW: ‘The Swedish Connection’ Is A True Story of Heroism Through Paperwork

When we meet diplomat Gösta Engzell (Henrik Dorsin), the hero of The Swedish Connection, an omniscient narrator (Per Gavatin) tells us he is “hardly a household name. A nobody.” After a comedically thrilling first three minutes, complete with a jaunty score and a prank at the Swedish government’s expense, calling the hero a “nobody” is a drastic change in pace. But the narrator points out that being a nobody is Engzell’s greatest asset. This is a story about “what a nobody can do.”

Our narrator rattles off a quick history lesson: in 1942, Sweden was technically neutral in World War II, but “agreed to pretty much anything Hitler asked.” The government is at the mercy of Hitler’s whims, but has not been invaded. There’s a host of characters from across Europe to follow, introduced with onscreen text to keep track of their names and job titles.

There’s Cabinet Secretary Staffan Söderström (Jonas Karlstrom); Christian Günther (Olle Jansson), Minister of Foreign Affairs; and German bureaucrat Martin Luther (Paul Schroder). The narrator introduces each of these comically; Luther’s introduction includes a joke about being unrelated to the theologian of the same name.

The Swedish Connection is not your average war film.

Even the introduction of high-ranking Nazi official Adolf Eichmann comes punctuated with a joke: “Unfortunately, we’ll see him again soon.” It’s a way to puncture the film’s initially lighthearted approach to its very serious story. The maintenance of tone, mastered well by directors Therese Ahlbeck and Marcus Olsson, is crucial to its success.

Germany is keeping Sweden – and the rest of the world – in the dark about what’s actually happening to Jewish people in Europe. Their systemic, forcible arrests and placement in concentration camps is a rumor, given little legitimacy. But when Engzell hears of Jewish children with a legitimate claim to Swedish citizenship, he and his office launch a plan to rescue the children along with as many people as possible in the process.

The Swedish Connection builds its tension and stakes in a wholly different manner than your typical war film. There are no battles, no newsreels, no air raids in the film. This is a film about bureaucracy used for good, espionage conducted through paperwork, and treason committed in conversations. Engzell’s office can approve visas, and they spread the world: they’ll approve visas to any Jewish person with any claim to Sweden they can deem legitimate, from having Swedish grandparents to having visited Sweden once.

The Netflix film honors a true story and the heroics of an ordinary man. 

It’s a brilliant plan that our heroes don’t acknowledge as brilliant, just as human decency and defiance in a time where humanity is at its worst. You’ll find yourself believing that filing paperwork on time and exposing loopholes and inconsistencies in German law is riveting.

Kaspar Kaee and Johan Testad’s jaunty, jazzy score gives The Swedish Connection a distinctly feel-good sensation. Dorsin’s performance is that of an engaging everyman, fighting for a better world and for a Sweden that stands on the right side of history. Directors Ahlbeck and Olsson draw attention to an unknown true story with humor while honoring its very real stakes.

The use of the narrator is scaled back in more serious moments, allowing the horrors of the Holocaust to take center stage without punchlines or quips. The blasé attitude of the neutral Swedish bureaucrats and the vileness of the Nazi Party are not taken lightly. Its only creative misstep is its camerawork; cinematographer Joachim Hedén’s handheld shots give some scenes a mockumentary feel. It’s a funny enough film without making it look like The Office.

The Swedish Connection illuminates one man’s determination to do the right thing in a time where even one misstep can result in exile (some bureaucrats are sent as “envoys to Moscow” as punishment) or even death. Engzell’s story, largely forgotten in history, is told here with grace, care, and humor. He may be a nobody in the world of bureaucracy, but here, he’s a somebody, saving the world one bit of paperwork at a time.

The Swedish Connection is available now exclusively on Netflix.