A force of nature brings a vacationing Swedish couple's (Johannes Bah Kuhnke and Lisa Loven Kongsli) various doubts and resentments to the surface in this heavy, but also quietly amusing drama. The performances are riveting in their minor-key authenticity, the central avalanche sequence is a frightening spectacle, and the film raises interesting questions regarding masculinity, as well as the expectations woven into any domestic tapestry and the pain experienced when they are unmet. (It reminds me of The Loneliest Planet, a far less heralded film in which a man's brief moment of cowardice returns to haunt him.) Now and then, the formal pretensions here, such as the abrupt eruptions of Vivaldi and a too-blunt visit to a luridly macho nightclub, threaten to obfuscate rather than enhance the human drama at play, but this never becomes a significant problem.

B+

Force Majeure

I wrote a long review then submitted it, but my shitty Internet crashed, so I will just sum up by saying it is a spectacular film. Quoting The Seattle Times, this is why I loved it; "Force Majeure becomes a thoughtful examination, through Tomas and Ebba, of the person who lives inside each of us, emerging only in the most unguarded moments - and not always a person we want to acknowledge." Beautiful cinematography, natural and gripping dialogue, powerful use of music, and solid performances.

A-

Well it is screener season, which means I check out stuff that I otherwise wouldn't bother with. Force Majeure was already on my shit list, just from the title alone which sounds like a gay hipster french cafe. However, if nothing else I wanted to see how the avalanche scene was done.

And I was a bit worried starting out. The music is fantastic right from the bat, so I knew I would at least be able to make it through on that alone. Just the boring static shots were getting to me, even with the beautiful mountains behind them. Like why are we just watching these people in the same shot for two minutes? After the avalanche, this style of cinematography makes a lot more sense. The camera is making us feel as uncomfortable as everyone else on this vacation. At first I didn't even see what the big deal was. Yes he ran while she stayed. Morally speaking this is bad, but logically, in a real avalanche, shielding your children isn't going to do any good. You're all gonna die because you didn't get away quick enough. His children seem to respect him slightly less and his wife is quick to make fun, but this isn't a marriage breaker. It's the fact that Tomas cannot accept that he did this that drives the plot and makes this a fascinating watch.

You even sympathize with him because of it, because you know he doesn't believe he did anything wrong. You'd like it if he and Ebba would just talk it off, just laughing it off. But she acts like everything is fine until they are in the company of friends, where she springs her ambushes .. like a bitch quite frankly. She completely breaks his psyche and then can't handle that either. Women, m i rite? The also manage to successfully break another couple up in this scene, which is fascinating and probably my favorite in the film.

I do wish it had ended a scene earlier. I was sure that Ebba had set up her situation purposefully to let Tomas regain his manhood. Yet then they hammer down another point afterwards, that everybody, including Ebba, can make bad decisions in a panic. I don't think this needed to be there though. Both Ebba and Tomas have completed their arcs at this point, and it seems like the director/writer just wanted to end it with the line "Yes, I'm a smoker" to show that being yourself is OK even if its a little gross. A fine message, but an unnecessary addition to an already complete work.

I didn't actually notice that Tomas got up and ran and left his family behind. I was too busy looking at the avalanche, and actually I thought they kind of all got up, in a panic, and ran together. So when she turned on him in the restaurant, it shocked me. Awesome scene, by the way. She hurt his manhood, and she wouldn't back down. I felt like he actually did nothing wrong. I guess I naturally side with males in this scenario, but really I think he acted fine. I suppose he assumed that they would also be running. If you see an avalanche, you don't just sit there until your dad/husband tells you to run, do you? You JUST RUN!!!

I actually loved this.



But I didn't like this.

You've never heard of the term before?

I have and stick by my comment.

I agree this is the correct move to make. She argues later in the movie that was she trying to carry them to safety, but it didn't seem like that in the moment. However, the only reason they did not initially run away is because he was telling them not to, that the avalanche was controlled and there was no danger. Then when it gets too near he just runs away while the others stay, paralyzed by indecision that was caused by him. She never brings this up though, only focusing on what she did and he didn't.

cascading