For those of you who love watching history, this one is a good watch for you. The plot revolves around Gösta Engzell, a lesser-known bureaucrat, who works at the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the World War 2 era. At the start of the film, we see how Sweden sticks to its “neutrality policy” towards Nazi Germany. Being a part of this, Gösta Engzell’s small legal department is given the task of processing all the visa and asylum applications of those who wish to seek refuge. In order to continue maintaining their policy and keep their country out of these politics, the department discreetly sidelines the applications they receive from Jewish people, especially those who reside in the Nazi-occupied Norway and Denmark. Such requests are mostly archived and hardly ever acted upon. However, things change when Engzell gets a new team member named Rut Vogel, whose awareness of the horrors faced by the Jewish people. As she urges her colleagues as well as Gösta Engzell to reconsider what they were doing, the increasing horrors of the holocaust come out to the world, which becomes hard to ignore. This leads Gösta Engzell to also reconsider what he has been doing up until now. Using his diplomatic abilities and powers, he begins to process the application received from the Jews.
This movie moved me, and I am sure that those who like themes of World War II will also like it. It shows us how some battles are won not without guns and other weapons, but simply through humanitarian feeling for each other. I gained a lot of information as well from this movie. For example, I had no idea about this aspect of the war. But thankfully, the movie and the makers have done their bit of research in getting us the stories from the war front. Everything is made authentically, which is why this automatically becomes a great and must-watch.
The character development of Gösta Engzell is also eye-catching. We can see him take his time to understand what was happening beyond the borders of his country and make a decision in the name of humanity. It is shown to us that a lot of lives were saved because of what he did and how he handled everything. That change of mind and heart is worth noticing, and indeed the best arch the plot has. Other than that, the role of Rut Vogel is worth noting. It is because of her that the entire department begins to notice what the plight of the Jews out here was.
All in all, the entire plot is amazing, and the movie is well-made. The speed is even, which means that in some places, we are given time to grasp what is happening in the movie. Such movies genuinely require even pacing because of the theme we are offered. And in all those criteria, the film exceeds our expectations. Hence, this is a movie that cannot be missed and is a must-watch for all of us to understand the impact of wars.
Final Score- [8/10]
Reviewed by - Neerja Ch
Follow @NeerjaCH on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times