Netflix’s 2026 movie slate is expanding with compelling international cinema, and one of the most talked-about releases is The Swedish Connection — a historical drama inspired by real events from World War II.

Set in 1942, during the height of World War II, The Swedish Connection tells the largely untold story of Gösta Engzell, a relatively unknown bureaucrat working in the Swedish Foreign Ministry. As neutral Sweden responds to the rapidly escalating violence across Europe, Engzell and his small team begin to understand the full scope of the Nazi persecution of Jews.

Rather than following battlefield action, the film focuses on bureaucracy as resistance: the legal hurdles, daring decisions, and moral courage of government officials using paperwork and diplomacy to save lives. Faced with pressure to maintain neutrality, Engzell pushes against established policy — creating routes of escape for Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi-controlled territories such as Norway and Denmark.

The Swedish Connection opens in cinemas on Friday, 13 February 2026, followed by a worldwide Netflix release on 19 February 2026.