Conflict: the Finnish military thriller who plays to be scared (critic)

What if the south of the Nordic country was one day invaded by an obscure armed militia? A new geopolitical dystopia that imagines the worst for tomorrow in order to exorcise the fears of today.

After Denmark flooded by waters in Like Bear FamiliesCanal Plus remains in the Nordic countries and reveals today Conflicta new shock and disturbing dystopia. A new series that takes us to an attacked Finland …

More precisely, it is the Hanko peninsula, to the south, which is suddenly taken by storm by a very trained militia and heavily armed. Landing through the air and the sea, they take control of the region in a few hours, while the Finns are on vacation, celebrating the summer solstice celebrations. Who are they? What do they want? And above all, how will the young president Linnea Saaristo react? Should we attack to take up the area to the invaders, even if it means endangering the inhabitants living in Hanko? Or should we negotiate with the attackers? Within his government, not everyone agrees on the method to adopt, while on the spot, Finnish soldiers are already trying to resist …

A decade ago, a Norwegian series, Occupyedtold the sudden occupation of part of its territory by Russian troops, in order to appropriate its oil. There was not even the war in Ukraine yet, but already, the northern border countries of the Vladimir Putin regime expressed their fears of an invasion through the small screen. Conflict does not quite depict a Russian attack, since it leaves doubt about the invader until the end. Nevertheless, the series of the acclaimed filmmaker AKU Louhimiehehe Materializes this throbbing fear of an entire region to be the target of an attack soon.

The geopolitical aspect thus holds an important place in Conflictperfectly embodied by Sara Souliéimpeccable as a young president turned into a head of armies. But it is really on the ground that most of this conflict is played out. Because Conflict Is, in its heart, a pure military thriller with brutal intensity. It impresses with its immersive staging, favoring tight plans and a realistic action that takes the guts. The cold landscapes of the region amplify the atmosphere to accentuate the anguish of the bullets that fuse every moment. Produced with spectacular means, Conflict Also knows how to go into gray areas, refusing the easy answers, and engaging the spectator in a reflection on the complexity of the human in the face of the conflict. Another Nordic dystopia that strikes hard and just.

Conflict, in 6 episodes, to see on Canal + every Monday until February 10.