Force Majeure
Directed by Ruben Östlund
- drama
The story
While holidaying in the French Alps, a Swedish family deals with acts of cowardliness as an avalanche breaks out.
What it’s like
Cool, clean Alpine light dominates here: wide, static shots of a luxury resort hotel, its terraces and glass-walled restaurant framed with a symmetrical, almost clinical precision, and long takes that let awkward silences stretch until they hurt. The palette is crisp whites, pale blues and the brittle grey of snow, with warm interiors that feel polished rather than cozy. Sound is sparse and naturalistic, so the rumble of an avalanche arrives as a dread-filled jolt against the murmur of cutlery and small talk. The vibe is cold, observant unease with a sharp dark-comedy edge, the kind that suits a late-night watch alone or a conversation-starting film with someone you know well. Pacing is deliberate and sometimes uncomfortably slow, with the tension building through glances and gestures rather than action. Its emotional register is wry and bruising, following a married couple whose assumptions about each other crack under pressure. Violence is essentially absent; the danger is real but mostly offscreen, and the discomfort is social and psychological, with occasional crude or sexually frank moments. It suits viewers who enjoy satirical, unsentimental portraits of middle-class anxiety and marriage.
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