You can tell that Sweden has not been at war for 200+ years. All the Swedish soldiers are wimps that have to show how scared they are at all times. It gets rather tedious. The only real hero is a Finnish origin soldier that had killed 100+ Russians. He is the only old-fashioned hero. All the Germans seem to be sadists. Another cliché. In contrast, we have the Swedish soldiers discussing about Hitler's plan for the Jews. Come on; some countryside 18 year olds in 1942 talking about the Jews? Not realistic. That so much playing to a modern audience as opposed to remaining somewhat authentic. The film also plays to a modern audience by having a soldier pet his pregnant girlfriend's tummy. Sweden is a small country so it is important to get the female audience as well.
I would not recommend this film. Instead watch the Danish Flame And Citron or the Norwegian Max Manus. These countries where attacked during WW2 and their soldiers show a much more aggressive demeanor. Their heroes are allowed to be good. They have meaningful tasks to accomplish. These two films has a strong narrative that pushes the films forward. The Swedish film pretty much lacks a narrative, except a big rather meaningless shoot-out in the end of the film (another conventional trick). I get the feeling that the director wants to show the horrors of war. The Swedes had a chance to make a traditional action movie, but blew it totally.
I would not recommend this film. Instead watch the Danish Flame And Citron or the Norwegian Max Manus. These countries where attacked during WW2 and their soldiers show a much more aggressive demeanor. Their heroes are allowed to be good. They have meaningful tasks to accomplish. These two films has a strong narrative that pushes the films forward. The Swedish film pretty much lacks a narrative, except a big rather meaningless shoot-out in the end of the film (another conventional trick). I get the feeling that the director wants to show the horrors of war. The Swedes had a chance to make a traditional action movie, but blew it totally.