‘Force Majeure’ (2014)
When you can’t stand another cozy Christmas movie, Ruben Östlund’s icy family drama is here for you.
In Force Majeure, an upper-middle-class Swedish family vacations at a luxury ski resort on a well-deserved break from their trying upper-middle-class lives. Tomas (Johannes Bah Kuhnke) and Ebba (Lisa Loven Kongsli) sip on wine and munch on pizza, hit the slopes with their two children, and reconnect with old friends to a soundtrack of Vivaldi and the ominous, cannon-like booms that mark the resort’s “controlled” avalanches.
Although they go through the motions of a fun family vacation, tensions run through every domestic interaction–from checking in at the resort to brushing their teeth to getting family photos taken in their ski gear. Their ice-thin illusion of harmony cracks within a day of arrival when a planned avalanche gets a bit out of control. As Tomas, Ebba, and the children lunch on the resort patio, snow crashes down the mountain, getting closer and louder and more ominous until they are covered in a powdery white cloud. Tomas flees the scene, leaving the rest of his family crouched next to their table. Once the air clears, they are all safe, and Tomas saunters back–but the family peace is shattered.
