Force Majeure

Dir: Ruben Östlund

2014

****

A 'Force Majeure' (superior force) is known as a 'chance occurrence' or an 'unavoidable accident'. This is a common clause in contracts that essentially frees two parties from liability or obligation when an extraordinary event or circumstance beyond the control of each party, such as war, strike, riot, crime or an event described in legal terms as an 'act of God, which includes hurricanes, flood, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and indeed avalanches, prevent one or both parties from fulfilling their obligations under the contract. An avalanche can also be described as a superior force and here is where Ruben Östlund's clever story lies. A Swedish family of four travel to a luxury skiing resort in the south of France. They enjoy their first day of skiing and are relaxed. On the second day however, they witness a controlled avalanche that goes awry during lunch. At first the controlled avalanche looks as if it will pass them but as it comes nearer Ebba, the mother, begins to become nervous for the family's safety. Seconds pass and the snow gets near still and the children, Vera and Harry, begin to get nervous too. Father Thomas convinced the family that there is nothing to worry about as this sort of controlled avalanche happens all the time, the resort know what they're doing. When it becomes obvious that the avalanche is about to engulf them Thomas grabs his phone and runs for safety, leaving his family behind. The avalanche turns out to be thick mist rather than snow and everyone is fine with only a gentle covering of snow on their lunch to speak of. The simple act of abandonment leaves Ebba to give her relationship serious thought and the event silently eats away at the family for the rest of the holiday. They meet with friends and the issue escalates once they both voice their opinions on what actually happened. This is a dark look at marriage, instinct, ideology and everything in-between. It's classed as a dark comedy but there is very little to laugh at, unless your sense of humour is somewhat questionable. That said, it's a brilliant drama, extremely uncomfortable to watch but impossible to look away from. It challenges the audience to a level that I'm not sure I've seen before, certainly not as effectively anyway. "A film should be like a stone in your shoe" as Lars von Trier once said, Force Majeure however is more like a piece of glass.