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| Source: http://www.brockpress.com/2015/02/bufs-preview-17-046/ |
Director: Ruben Östlund
Screenwriter: Ruben Östlund
Stars: Johannes Khunke, Lisa Loven Kongsli, Kristofer Hivju, Fanni Metelius
Trailer link
IMDb page
More negativity to come, I promise:
So it turns out that being unemployed doesn't give you an unlimited amount of time to do whatever you feel like, and that job hunting actually requires almost as much work and dedication as a regular 9 to 5. Between interviews, watching movies, other film related writing and just life in general, I don't get to do a whole lot of blogging these days, which is something that has been bothering me a lot over the last few weeks. I want to get back into the habit of reviewing films from both sides of the quality spectrum, and stop popping online just to write a few lines abut my favourite films once in a while, like I've been doing for the last couple of months. That being said however, today's review will be a very positive one, so I guess I'm already starting to contradict myself. Sigh.
Skiing the pain away:
Force Majeure is a pitch black comedy set in and around a luxurious ski resort in the French Alps. We're introduced to a husband, his wife and their two children in an awkwardly funny and relatable opening scene, where an intruding photographer forces them to pose for his unforgiving camera. The family on the post-card-worthy photos seems pitch perfect at a glance, but within the first 10 minutes of the film, we discover that this isn't exactly the case. It turns out that Mama and Papa have a very hard time communicating with each other, and when their respective weaknesses and limits are exposed as a result of an extraordinary event, a family crisis unparallelled but anything you've ever seen before ensues.
Naked vastness:
One of the best things about Force Majeure is it's uncanny sense of mood and atmosphere. Director Ruben Östlund treats his audience to magnificent shots of snowy mountaintops and brooding pine forests all throughout the film, and the wast loneliness and isolation of these vistas matches the tone of the film perfectly. Our main characters, Thomas and Ebba, traveled to this place in an attempt to salvage their damaged marriage, desperately hoping that a holiday in the idyllic Alps would tighten them as a family. What actually ends up happening is quite the opposite; the silence and emptiness of the place reveals how far apart from each other they've grown, and threatens to drive them even further apart. There's nothing but snow, emptiness and silence in this place, which forces the characters to look at each other and themselves in a new light, and Ruben Österlund uses the chilling surroundings to capture this this sense of chaos, clarity and emptiness extremely well.
You'll feel bad, but you'll laugh:
In my opinion, the biggest takeaway from this film is how absolutely hilarious it is. It isn't funny in a Seth Rogen dick-jokey kind of way, but in an understated, awkward and more insightful manner, which suits the overall theme of the film very well. Its best scenes leave you wondering whether you should be crying for or laughing at the main characters and their silly, egocentric behaviour, which is something I enjoyed immensely. This humour doesn't get in the way of the more thoughtful ideas that Östlund proposes in the film however, which Kristofer Hivju's character is a perfect example of; he successfully explores themes such as masculinity, hero complexes and self-contradiction through this supporting character, but also manages to make him one of the funniest and most enjoyably cringeworthy film personas of 2014.
Naked vastness:
One of the best things about Force Majeure is it's uncanny sense of mood and atmosphere. Director Ruben Östlund treats his audience to magnificent shots of snowy mountaintops and brooding pine forests all throughout the film, and the wast loneliness and isolation of these vistas matches the tone of the film perfectly. Our main characters, Thomas and Ebba, traveled to this place in an attempt to salvage their damaged marriage, desperately hoping that a holiday in the idyllic Alps would tighten them as a family. What actually ends up happening is quite the opposite; the silence and emptiness of the place reveals how far apart from each other they've grown, and threatens to drive them even further apart. There's nothing but snow, emptiness and silence in this place, which forces the characters to look at each other and themselves in a new light, and Ruben Österlund uses the chilling surroundings to capture this this sense of chaos, clarity and emptiness extremely well.
You'll feel bad, but you'll laugh:
In my opinion, the biggest takeaway from this film is how absolutely hilarious it is. It isn't funny in a Seth Rogen dick-jokey kind of way, but in an understated, awkward and more insightful manner, which suits the overall theme of the film very well. Its best scenes leave you wondering whether you should be crying for or laughing at the main characters and their silly, egocentric behaviour, which is something I enjoyed immensely. This humour doesn't get in the way of the more thoughtful ideas that Östlund proposes in the film however, which Kristofer Hivju's character is a perfect example of; he successfully explores themes such as masculinity, hero complexes and self-contradiction through this supporting character, but also manages to make him one of the funniest and most enjoyably cringeworthy film personas of 2014.
Swedish cinema, ho!:
Force Majeure was Sweden's official submission to the best foreign language film category during this year's Oscars, but for some unexplainable reason, it wasn't even nominated. The pure wit and cleverness of Force is unparalleled by anything I saw in 2014, so much so that I often catch myself internally debating some of the questions director Ruben Östlund raises, about themes such as forgiveness, pride, trust and self redemption, in the same way that his characters do. He tells a thought-provoking and darkly funny story in a deeply engrossing and original manner, and in my opinion, Force Majeure is one of the very best films of 2014, and the second Swedish masterpiece to be grossly overlooked by the Oscars within the last decade. (You can read my Let the Right One In review here!)
