Involuntary (2008)

In several unrelated stories, the consequences of putting ones foot down - or failing to do so - are explored.

Director:

Ruben Östlund

Writers:

Erik Hemmendorff (screenplay), Ruben Östlund (screenplay)

Stars:

Villmar Björkman, Linnea Cart-Lamy, Leif Edlund

10 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Villmar Björkman	...	Villmar
Linnea Cart-Lamy	...	Linnea
Leif Edlund	...	Leif
Sara Eriksson	...	Sara
Lola Ewerlund	...	Lola
Alexandra Hummingson	...	Gala guest
Hanna Lekander	...	Hanna
Olle Liljas	...	Olle
Maria Lundqvist	...	Maria
Cecilia Milocco	...	Cecilia
Simeon Nordius	...	Sonen
Guje Palm	...	Argumenterande kvinna
Henrik Vikman	...	Henrik
Vera Vitali	...	Vera

Storyline

It's almost summer in Sweden and minor indiscretions and misbehavior abound. Leffe likes to show off for his friends and play salacious pranks, especially when he's drinking. Meanwhile, a righteous grade-school teacher doesn't know where to draw the line: she insists her fellow educators need a bit of instruction. Then there are two young teenage girls who like to pose for sexy photos and to party, but one night in a park, one of them is found passed out drunk by a complete stranger.

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Plot Keywords:

sweden | thong | toilet | teenager | school teacher | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Trinity [UK]

Country:

Sweden France

Language:

Swedish English

Release Date:

28 November 2008 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

De ufrivillige

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$623,849

Company Credits

Production Co:

Coproduction Office, Film i Väst, Plattform Produktion

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sweden's official submission to 82nd Academy Award's Foreign Language in 2010.

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Goofs

[All goofs for this title are spoilers.]

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Soundtracks

Rhythm Is The Key
Written by Joachim Nordwall, Henrik Rylander, Daniel Fagerström, Eric Olofsson, Jean-Louis Huhta
Performed by The Skull Defekts

User Reviews

Touching on the sublime, normalising bad

This is a very human film, where a number of different stories all meet. In a way, it is a film where the Swedish condition overpowers the human one; Swedes are well-known for not wanting to seem "out of the ordinary", so much that everything "normal" is perverted by the will to stay inside the box and not make any noise; the very first scene in the film is a kind of metaphor for that, and the rest of the film also.

At the same time, I see this film as a kind of way to show that the obscure and involuntary can be normalised as well, which is displayed beautifully; the cinematography rarely - if ever - involves a moving camera, which has plagued much of modern Swedish cinema.

Some of the acting is sublime and just torturously good, as with the two main young girls, the teacher and "the macho guys". The scripts complements all of this, wonderfully.

This is a film that, when at its best, touches on the sublime. At its worst, it's wavering, but that's really beyond the point. This is a mostly beautiful film on the selections we tend to make today. I recommend it.