Snow Therapy

In the tradition of movies like 2011's "The Loneliest Planet", the inciting incident of Sweden's failed entry into this year's awards season is sure to spur uncomfortable conversations with those dumb enough to watch this with a spouse or loved one.

"Force Majeure", a title which literally translates to superior force or unavoidable accident, follows a picturesque family (father, mother, son and daughter) on a ski vacation at a picturesque ski resort. They seem to be having the perfect time.

During a dinner, they find themselves witness to a controlled avalanche which comes a little too close for comfort. But when this happens a split second decision is made; a decision which clearly bothers the wife more than her husband, as (through conversation) she is forced (and forces herself) to relive the event over and over again; a decision that will slowly begin to snowball in the days that follow, causing this happy family to question everything which up to that point had bonded them together.

While this premise sounds like the makings of a fascinating social experiment (and it is, for a time) the issue with "Force Majeure" lies in its overlong runtime. The fateful event happens in the first 15 minutes and the effects of this event begin immediately after that. Yet this is a 2 hours plus movie. And thus, at around the one hour mark I remembered thinking to myself, "OK, I got it. This is an interesting experiment, but wrap it up already." The direction from Ruben Ostlund is definitely a high point, as was the cinematography, both which really capture the beauty as well as the tremendous force of this films natural backdrop. And yes, there are a few interesting moments in the latter half of this movie, but even these become repetitious. And as it all leads up to an obnoxiously ambiguous ending anyway, with seemingly nothing to say about events which proceeded it, it's safe to say that "Force Majeure" would have made a better short.

Final Thought: Despite what most critics were predicting, "Force Majeure" did not receive a 2015 Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. And, in this reviewer's opinion, did not deserve one. So with that said, this late lukewarm review will undoubtedly mean nothing and furthermore is one nobody will likely read anyway.

Force Majeure attempts to find deep meaning in a husband's failed response to a sudden crisis. A family's routine ski trip is thrown into turmoil when he responds poorly to an apparent avalanche. The movie is largely a character study of the aftermath. The problem is that it is one of those movies with virtually no sympathetic characters. As such it's a bit of a difficult watch. It is hard to join the movie in its search for meaning, when the main characters are so alienating and off-putting. Even the kids in the family aren't particularly sympathetic. Further, the movie attempts to wring way too much melodrama out of a relatively minor incident. For me it was more tiresome than enlightening. Finally, I thought some of the plot devices were amateurish; too many plot twists depended on cell phones not working. While I appreciated the film's ambition, it did not work for me.

'FORCE MAJEURE': Four Stars (Out of Five)

Swedish drama flick about a family on holiday in the French Alps, who survive an avalanche; which then puts the father's courage, and family value, in question (as he abandoned his family to save himself). The film was written and directed by Ruben Ostlund and stars Johannes Kuhnke and Lisa Loven Kongsli. It's one of the most critically acclaimed movies of 2014 and was nominated for a Golden Globe; for Best Foreign Language Film. I found it to be a pretty interesting and dramatically intense character study.

The film tells the story of a Swedish family vacationing in the French Alps. One day, during lunch at a beautiful mountainside restaurant, the family is hit by an avalanche, along with other restaurant customers. Everyone is safe but it becomes apparent to the wife, Ebba (Kongsli), that her husband, Tomas (Kuhnke), had fled the scene by himself; leaving the family to fend for themselves. This really bothers Ebba, who proceeds to harass Tomas about it, for the rest of their ski trip. Tomas tries to deny his cowardly actions ever took place, as he lets the event eat him up inside.

The movie kind of deals with everyone's worst fears; 'how would you react in a traumatic life threatening situation?', 'would you be the heroic person you would want to be?'. These are fears that have haunted me, at times. I think I'd be brave, and do the right thing, but no one really knows for sure; until they're in that situation. The film is pretty insightful in that way and it's also very disturbing. The harassment, from the wife, makes the film feel very disheartening. There is a twist ending, as well, that provides a little more emotional satisfaction for everyone. It's a well made drama film, but pretty hard to sit through.

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The Europeans do this kind of film so well. You let ordinary people in a fairly common situation play out a theme. It poses questions that all of us can relate to and therefore and at the same time, entertains. No need for explosions, cartoon violence, or impossible crisis after impossible crisis. Therefore the emotions revealed are subtle and appropriate. (Think Manon de Sources for example - although this is not as good)! Some of the camera work in the mountains is so straightforward yet produces breathtaking results. Artificial avalanches are created to preempt natural ones and provide safety for the snow lovers. You could almost be there. The actors are relatively unknown so there is no baggage, no false expectations, no subliminal 'hierarchy of the characters.' It's what gives the story its power. I saw this at a film festival which shuns Hollywood's attempts at drama ( thankfully) to bring nuggets like this. I know it went down well at Cannes and its failure to get an award surprised some.

I consider myself fortunate not to have known much about the movie. Actually, I was expecting a french disaster-flick in the vein of "127 Hours", a post-avalanche survival tale, because of the promotional poster.

Boy, I was wrong. Being misguided often gets me irritated, but "Force Majeure" was shockingly impressive.

The narrative follows a Swedish couple on a ski-holiday with their children, and the aftermath of them facing a somewhat life- threatening situation. The disaster here is not a force of nature, but a force of human emotions.

With no intention of spoiling a movie you should know as little as possible about, this is a hard hitting emotional drama about human frailty, marriage, inner torment and moral dilemmas when it comes to love, and the authenticity of love.

Very much recommended to lovers of layered, intelligent drama. And I repeat, this is not a natural disaster movie.