After a surfeit of Scandinavian films that have invariably been dubbed ''Nordic Noir'', it's quite refreshing to watch a Swedish film that doesn't involve a criminal investigation, though Force Majeure is anything but light and happiness.
FORCE MAJEURE
Director: Ruben Ostlund
Cast: Johannes Kuhnke, Lisa Loven Kongsli, Clara Wettergren, Vincent Wettergren, Kristofer Hivju, Fanni Metelius
Rating: (PG)
Four stars (out of five)
On a family holiday, Tomas (Johannes Kuhnke) and his wife, Ebba (Lisa Loven Kongsli), take their young children skiing at a luxury resort in the French Alps.
When a controlled avalanche threatens to swamp the balcony where they stop to have lunch, Tomas makes a dash for the exit, seemingly oblivious to the fact that as a husband and father, his duty might be to show concern for his family.
The narrative takes a dark turn when the snow cloud clears and Ebba quite reasonably questions Tomas' actions.
The ensuing rift between them frames the rest of the film quite superbly.
Even the arrival of an old friend and his girlfriend cannot lift the fog and the two couples start to pull apart at the seams.
Rollicking along at a glacial pace, Force Majeure revels in its quirky-indie bleakness, but the tense drama would count for nothing if it weren't for the moving performances of the leads, brilliantly capturing the pain of distrust that cloaks the couples.
It's hard to know where to look, let alone who to root for.
Force Majeure is not for everyone, but for those prepared to put in some effort to engage with the human emotions amusingly laid bare, this is a film that makes a great diversion from a paint-by-numbers drama.
- Mark Orton
