A ski vacation meant to bond a family together takes an unexpected turn when a moment of panic reveals a father’s cowardice in this darkly funny blend of satire and psychological thriller, the winner of the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Tomas (Johannes Bah Kuhnke), Ebba (Lisa Loven Kongsli), and their two kids’ holiday goes sideways in
Force Majeure’s most thrilling (and chilling) scene, when Tomas abandons his family in the face of an out-of-control “controlled” avalanche. Writer-director Ruben Östlund began his career making ski films, and he returns to his roots with several exhilarating action scenes. Shooting in the Alps, he and cinematographer Fredrik Menzel make the most of the location, the humans and their problems small against the majesty of the mountains. Off the slopes, Östlund observes his characters sharply but with detachment, in a cutting portrait of a picture-perfect family unraveling when its illusions are laid bare.
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