Force Majeure (2014)
Cast includes: Johannes Kuhnke (The Inheritance), Lisa Loven Kongsli (Fatso)
Writer/Director: Ruben Östlund (Involuntary, Incident by a Bank)
Genre: Drama (118 minutes) Swedish with subtitles
“Take your picture? Where’re you from?” Sweden. “Take your picture together?” It’s almost impossible to avoid the pushy photographer. Oh, why not! It’s gorgeous here, and the photos will be a nice way to remember this perfect family vacation. Tomas, Ebba and their two children are on a ski holiday in the French Alps. It’s easy to feel quite small in this majestic setting. The regular booms, setting off small controlled avalanches, echo off the mountainsides all day and all night… a reminder that the forces of nature have to be respected. Anyway, this is “5 days to focus on the family. Tomas works so hard,” says Ebba. Day 1, the skiing is exhilarating and exhausting. The 4 of them literally pass out from exhaustion, looking like a family of hibernating bears… momma, poppa and 2 cubs all in one bed, all in their blue fleece.
Day 2 starts with lunch on the deck… another perfect day until one of the “controlled” avalanches gives them a real fright. Things are kind of off after that… tempers are short and nothing seems as much fun as yesterday. Meeting up with friends in the restaurant later that day, Tomas and Ebba share their feelings about what happened. Turns out their memories of the event are totally different and tensions build. “What’s going on? I don’t recognize us.” What was supposed to be a happy holiday has exposed fault lines in the family relationship. Talking things through with friends can backfire because they don’t necessarily have the same priorities. “It’s not as easy as you make it out to be,” says Ebba.
Force Majeure asks us to put ourselves in a place where the complications of normal daily life are replaced by a single overwhelming force of nature… a seemingly perfect family uses the setting to expose previously hidden issues. While the setting is beautiful, it’s also eerie and humbling to think how man strives to control nature. The filmmakers have done an excellent job of making us feel the power of the elements… especially with the extraordinary cinematography and sound editing. All the sound effects and the digital effects are added in post-production, but they feel totally natural and they add a lot to the power of the film. If you favor movies with lots of plot elements, this one might disappoint. You really need to let yourself be consumed with the artistry and small details. This is Sweden’s entry into the foreign film category of the Academy Awards, and it’s not hard to see why they chose it. If you can, it’s best to see this one in a theater because the power of Force Majeure might not translate as well on a small screen.
3 popped kernels
A family ski vacation takes an uncomfortable turn after a frightening event
Popcorn Profile
Rated: R
Audience: Grown-ups
Gender Style: Neutral
Distribution: Art House
Mood: Sober
Tempo: Cruises Comfortably
Visual Style: Nicely Varnished Realism
Nutshell: Ski vacation takes an unpleasant turn
Language: True to life
Social Significance: Thought Provoking
