"This is a man whose diplomatic pincer skills have just stuck it to the Nazi hate machine and will save tens of thousands of Jewish lives. His name is Gosta Engzell, a real-life bureaucrat in the Swedish foreign ministry during the second world war, played here by Henrik Dorsin as bumbling and avuncular in his comfy cardigans and dicky bow ties."
"If we are honest, Engzell's desk-based heroism deploying the power of loopholes, paperwork and diplomatic notes verbales to save lives is not terribly cinematic. Co-directors Therese Ahlbeck and Marcus Olsson's workaround is to give us shots of diplomats dashing along the corridors of power, huffing and puffing; it all adds to the film's affable comic mood, pleasant enough but sometimes jarring with the seriousness of what is at stake."
"Modest and unassuming, Engzell toes the line, processing visas and dealing with immigration issues. The unspoken rule is that applications from Jewish people are archived; their plight is a non-issue. Sweden maintained a policy of neutrality throughout the war, but a murkier truth is portrayed here. Engzell's bosses strain to keep on the good side of the Germans, content to dismiss reports of genocide as rumours."
Gosta Engzell is a Swedish foreign ministry bureaucrat during World War II who used loopholes, paperwork and notes verbales to secure visas and save Jewish lives. He is portrayed as modest and unassuming, working in a cramped basement office while superiors prioritize neutrality and appeasing the Germans. A principled colleague, Rut Vogl, prompts him to change course and process visas for Norwegian Jews, spreading protection via Swedish connections. The story balances comic, affable pacing with the seriousness of genocide, suggesting that ordinary bureaucratic acts can produce large humanitarian outcomes. Modest dramatization and moments of physical diplomacy give the narrative accessibility and uplift.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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