By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.8 cats
Director: Ruben Östlund
Starring: Clara Wettergren | Johannes Bah Kuhnke | Kristofer Hivju | Lisa Loven Kongsli | Vincent Wettergren
Original language title: Turist
Country: denmark, norway, sweden
Year: 2014
Running time: 118
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3630276/combined
Bruce says: “In the face of danger a man fends for himself rather than protect the ones he purportedly loves. The concept is not new in cinema – in fact, Julia Loktev’s THE LONELIEST PLANET dealt with the subject fairly recently. Writer/Director Ruben Ȍstlund claims that the image of the macho male that protects those around him is strictly myth. In the course of most disasters involving human death, it is the men who survive in greater percentages and the women and children who are the casualties. ‘Men may be the heroes on film but that’s not as it is real life,’ says Ȍstlund.
“FORCE MAJEURE is a thorough examination of many facets of perceived gender roles and the concomitant expectations and consequences of those perceptions as they extend to relationships. Tomas (Johannes Bah Kuhnke) and Ebba (Lisa Loven Kongsli) are on a ski vacation with children Vera and Harry. Some verbal sparring indicates that their marriage may be experiencing difficulties. A photographer snaps family photos on a nearby slope and the body language is quite revealing.
“The family is dining on the deck of an alpine ski lodge when loud noises are heard. Shots are being fired to create controlled avalanches that, in theory, protect the skiers and create better skiing conditions in the process. Suddenly an avalanche comes roaring towards the restaurant. Tomas leaps up, grabs his cellphone and runs. Seconds later it appears to be a false alarm. The actual avalanche stopped safely short of the restaurant but flying snow particles called avalanche smoke temporarily engulfed the ski lodge. Soon everyone is back at the table eating their meals. Ebba makes a snide comment about the incident before
hitting the slopes.
“Later when Ebba and Tomas are dining with a Swedish friend and his young girlfriend, Ebba interrupts the conversation with a tirade about Tomas’ behavior during the avalanche. Tomas denies that he ran away from the family and claims that he and Ebba have a different interpretation of events. The following day Ebba shows everyone the video from Tomas’ cellphone that proves he ran away. Whether Ebba is undone by the incident or using the incident as a wedge to uncover the true problems in their marriage is not initially clear. The other couple is completely drawn into the fracas and offer opinions of their own. Soon their relationship issues bubble to the surface. Tomas breaks down; Ebba gets more angry and confused. Ebba has a confusing conversation with another Swedish woman who is at the resort with an Italian lover. When Ebba comments about her blatant behavior, the woman claims that fidelity is not much of a factor with she and her husband – it’s not an expectation.
“The scenes of FORCE MAJEURE flow freely and easily with dialogue driving the plot much like A SEPARATION or THE PAST. Ȍstlund has a solid grasp of human nature. He makes many of his statements subtly; there is no hitting the viewer over the head with the obvious. Even during brief moments that may seem so, there is an underlying subtext. Who is good and who
is bad? What is bravery and what is cowardice? Ȍstlund understands the complexities of relationships and the thin lines that
separate the elements of most dichotomies. 5 cats
“(FORCE MAJEURE screened at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival.)”
Jason says: “Danger lurks constantly in FORCE MAJEURE, although it’s seldom the life-and-limb variety as opposed to the family-falling-apart one. Impressive, given the sheer volume of explosions being set off to cause controlled avalanches. The obvious reminder that there is no such thing serves as the basic premise of the film, and your not going to see it presented on screen much better.
“It’s one of those controlled avalanches that really sets things off as a Swedish family on a five-day vacation in a French ski resort – father Tomas (Johannes Kuhnke), mother Ebba (Lisa Loven Kongsli), daughter Vera (Clara Wettergren), and son Harry (Vincent Wettergren) – eat lunch in a rooftop restaurant on the second day and see one roll much closer than expected. No harm done, except that Thomas’s reaction exposes a potentially much more serious rift in the marriage than the previous talk of how he works all the time or can’t turn away from his phone.
“That plays into it, of course, but filmmaker Ruben Östlund is not going to reduce the family’s issues into something quite that simple. He does key on something rather basic – a fear of abandonment that both spouses and children in a situation like this feel, and while he’s not exactly subtle about it at times (after all, subtle isn’t necessarily the way it works with kids), the variations are well-chosen, and there are actual counter-examples given on occasion. The idea of the avalanche is well chosen, too, as one thing has an effect that gets bigger well beyond the immediate and expected radius.
“Östlund presents this in a controlled manner that is nevertheless unnerving, with every scene taking place against a pristine,
well-maintained background, whether it be the beautiful resort buildings or the slopes which even look pristine as Östlund shows them being maintained between each day – wonderfully surreal images that not only sell the audience on how unnatural and difficult keeping something in perfect shape is, but which get the audience used to the bangs used for those controlled avalanches so that there’s nothing out-of-place about them on the soundtrack, even as they become a barrage during a climactic scene. And despite every scene having a clear purpose and the design work tending toward the exceptionally clean, the film seldom feels sterile or chilly; there’s a human heart to each moment.
“Typically, it’s Lisa Loven Kongsli providing it; Ebba is given avchance to be shaken early on, and watching this newly heightened fear surface in different ways is fascinating, especially since even when a viewer might feel like Ebba is pushing too hard on something, Kongsli never seems to be overdoing it. Even when we mostly see her as the familiar ‘capable wife’, she still feels very individual. The film sets her up to be doing the opposite thing as Johannes Kuhnke’s Tomas, but that doesn’t make him the villain of the piece, though; Tomas’s actions may often be cringe-worthy, but watching circumstances chip away at him
is amazing to see. Clara & Vincent Wettergren, though shuffled off-screen at certain points, are small-scale terrific as the kids, even when they don’t have much in the lines; one of the best moments in the movie is Vera looking disgusted while her parents argue in the next room.
“Surprisingly, considering how much the film follows things falling apart, it’s also quite funny. Sometimes it’s the comedy of discomfort, but even when it starts out there, Östlund frequently uses that as a launching point for great back-and-forth. Just about everything involving Tomas’s friend Mats (Kristofer Hivju), for example, starts as ‘please stop trying to give advice’, but spins off into his own oddness. The big laughs are plentiful, even if they don’t always sound funny out of context.
“FORCE MAJEURE has just been announced as Sweden’s entry to the Oscars, which seems like pretty good news: That will certainly help it get into more North American theaters than a random foreign-language movie would, and it’s something in which almost anybody can find something to appreciate. 4.75 cats
“Seen 19 September 2014 in Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar #1 (Fantastic Fest, DCP).”
Brett says: “I have started a summary/review of this film twice, but I have been interrupted both times, and each time, one of our members has already sent out a commentary on it. I think both reviews are great and mirror a lot of my own observations and thoughts about the film. This is one of the year’s best so far for me, and I’m just enthralled by the way this story unfolds and the gentle nudges the audience gets from the directorial style. It’s layered thick with metaphors, and never once does the film go out of its way to drive home its many metaphorical points or observations. Thanks for both submissions on this film so far, and I’m adding this third reply to further promote how deserving of attention that this film is. It’s like what a painter tries to do on
a canvas, and there are so many captured moments and stand out scenes/images in this carefully crafted tale of instincts and
relationships/society. 4.75 cats”