When in 1981 a Russian submarine agreed in prohibited waters off the Swedish coast, the start of a third world war was never so close. With “Whiskey on the Rocks”, Disney+ has reported this dramatic episode of the Cold War with a rare humor since January 22.
If Scandinavian productions often shine by their darkness, Swedes also know how to show mastery in terms of humor. By seizing a historical news item that could have turned to the tragic and turning it in a buffunade, Henrik Jansson-Schweizer, the creator of “Whiskey on the Rocks”, supported by journalist Jonas Jonasson, author of a novel On this case, sign an intoxicating satire in six thirty minutes episodes.
Reminder of the facts. On October 27, 1981, a Russian U-137 submarine with a return of maneuver agreed in Swedish territorial waters ten kilometers from a naval base. On board, none of the sailors can see the mistake and for good reason, the crew drowned in vodka during a birthday party, a memorable drinking. It was not until the early morning that the captain saw the incongruity of the situation and, incidentally, the quagmire in which he and his men soaked in alcohol plunged his country.
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A face-to-face between Brejnev and Reagan
Of course, Russian President Brejnev is alerted. This drunk drunk who wants only one thing, going to war so as not to lose face, hesitates to settle this story amicably by winning the red phone which binds it to its counterpart, the American president Reagan. This cowboy just good to pull at the rifle and to stuff himself with burgers sees here a great opportunity to rush into this breach to put the pâté to the Russians. Stuck between the two powers, the Swedish Prime Minister, a quiet guy more concerned about his sheep and his wife, is somewhat borrowed.
-The climbing in a kind of dialogue of deaf and dupe game is inevitable. Each of the two blocks positions its armies as close as possible to Sweden. It is to whom the first one will shoot. Luckily, the powerful are seconded by smarter secretaries and aware of the real threat of a nuclear war. They decide not to scrupulously translate the abusive and warriors made by their respective bosses. As for the Swedish Prime Minister, he can count on the Russian ambassador in Stockholm to find a way out.
Moads in a mess
Burlesque, gags, funny situations, clichés in maids pushed to the maximum and caricatural decision -makers to the extreme, incompetent and outdated puppets, are all strings drawn by the writers to provoke hilarity.
Not to mention the cold humor caused by two old Swedish fishermen who could release a film from the Coen brothers and who, the first, will discover the sinking, but prove to be unable to give the alert. When the comedy puts itself at the service of the big story, it becomes futile to resist investigating the six episodes in a line. Na Zdrowie!
Philippe congits / mh
“Whiskey on the Rocks” by Henrik Jansson-Schweizer, with Rolf Lassgård, Elsa Sewio, Anders Mossling. Six episodes to see on Disney+ since January 22, 2025.
