The Unthinkable (4 Stars)

This is the fifth film in the Stuttgart Fantasy Film Festival.

The film tells two stories. The first story is a family drama. Björn loves his son Alex but is unable to show it. As a result Alex runs away to Stockholm, leaving behind Anna, the girl he loves. Over the next ten years Alex becomes a world famous keyboard player. He returns to his home town Vanga to buy the piano from his local church, because he believes it has more soul than the expensive keyboards he already owns. He walks into the church and finds Anna, now married with a child, sitting and playing the piano he wants.

The second story is an attack on Sweden by Russia shortly after Alex's arrival in Vanga. At first it looks like terrorist attacks that are blowing up Sweden's power plants, but then there's an invasion of dark clad soldiers in helicopters attacking the remaining power plants in person. In addition, biological weapons are used that infect anyone who is caught in the rain.

The battles with the invading soldiers bring Björn, Alex and Anna back together.

The film effectively shows the terror and confusion of people caught in a modern war. Nobody knows for certain what's happening. In rural areas people aren't even aware there's a war and think that it's just an accident that has turned off the power.

At the end of the film there's footage of Vladimir Putin acting like he knows nothing about a war against Sweden.

The realism of this film is overwhelming. Vladimir Putin wants a war to extend Russian influence, but he's biding his time until he thinks the West is too weak to defend itself. After the Baltic countries have fallen, Sweden will be the first western European country to be attacked. No other country will defend Sweden if Putin can persuade them that Russia isn't doing anything.