Force Majeure

Showings

Sequoia 2 Tue, Oct 7, 2014 7:30 PM
Film Info
Section:World Cinema
Country:Sweden
Norway
Denmark
France
Year:2014
Running Time:118
Language:Swedish
English
and French
Director:Ruben Östlund
Producer:Erik Hemmendorff
Marie Kjellson
Philippe Bober
Screenwriter:Ruben Östlund
Cinematographer:Fredrik Wenzel
Editor:Jacob Secher Schulsinger
Ruben Östlund
Cast:Johannes Bah Kuhnke
Lisa Loven Kongsli
Clara Wettergren
Vincent Wettergren
Kristofer Hivju
Fanni Metelius

Description

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.

WITH SUPPORT FROM THE CONSULATE GENERAL OF SWEDEN AND THE BARBRO OSHER PRO SUECIA FOUNDATION

Sponsored by San Francisco Chronicle

Additional Information


Ruben Östlund’s feature debut THE GUITAR MONGOLOID, produced by the cofounder of Plattform Produktion Erik Hemmendorff, won the FIPRESCI Award at Moscow in 2005. INVOLUNTARY premiered at Un Certain Regard 2008. The film was then distributed in more than twenty countries and shown at numerous festivals, awarding Ruben international recognition. Two years later, he won the Golden Bear in Berlin for INCIDENT IN A BANK, a short film in which every camera movement was computer generated in post-production. The premiere of his third feature film PLAY (2011) was held in Cannes at The Director’s Fortnight, where he was awarded the ‘Coup de Coeur’ Prize. After Cannes, PLAY was shown in Venice and Toronto as well as numerous other festivals where it was awarded additional prices and distinctions. Amongst others, PLAY was nominated for the prestigious LUX prize of the European Parliament and won the Nordic Prize, the highest distinction in Scandinavia.