Force Majeure (2014)

A family vacationing in the French Alps is confronted with a devastating avalanche.

Director:

Ruben Östlund

Writer:

Ruben Östlund

Stars:

Johannes Kuhnke, Lisa Loven Kongsli, Clara Wettergren

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 31 wins & 37 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Johannes Kuhnke	...	Tomas (as Johannes Bah Kuhnke)
Lisa Loven Kongsli	...	Ebba
Clara Wettergren	...	Vera
Vincent Wettergren	...	Harry
Kristofer Hivju	...	Mats
Fanni Metelius	...	Fanny
Karin Myrenberg	...	Charlotte (as Karin Myrenberg Faber)
Brady Corbet	...	Amerikanen
Johannes Moustos	...	Stadaren
Jorge Lattof	...	Tomba
Adrian Heinisch	...	Busschauffören
Michael Breitenberger	...	Rökande mannen
Karl Pincon	...	Turistfotografen (as Karl Pinçon)
Julie Roumogoux	...	Snowboardparet (as Julie Roumegoux)
Peter Gaunt	...	Snowboardparet

Storyline

A Swedish family travels to the French Alps to enjoy a few days of skiing. The sun is shining and the slopes are spectacular but, during a lunch at a mountainside restaurant, an avalanche turns everything upside down. With diners fleeing in all directions, mother Ebba calls for her husband Tomas as she tries to protect their children. Tomas, meanwhile, is running for his life... The anticipated disaster failed to occur, and yet the family's world has been shaken to its core, a question mark hanging over their father in particular. Tomas and Ebba's marriage now hangs in the balance as Tomas struggles desperately to reclaim his role as family patriarch.

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Plot Keywords:

marital strife | passive aggressive behavior | manipulative wife | hysterical wife | malicious wife | 

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Taglines:

A film about disasters - both natural and man-made.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some language and brief nudity

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Ruben Östlund acquired inspiration for some scenes in the screenplay from real footage on YouTube. For example, the avalanche which serves as a momentum early in the story was inspired by a video Östlund found on YouTube, and a performance by a 12-year-old accordionist of Vivaldi's "Summer" was taken directly from a YouTube clip and played repeatedly throughout the film.

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Goofs

At about 1.50 minutes in as the bus is going down the switch backs, as they approach the final switchback the bus gets stuck on the retaining wall is solid. When the passengers get off and watch the bus back up the wall is crenelated concrete.

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Quotes

Fanni: There's nothing in your head that you haven't said!

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Connections

Remade as Downhill (2020)

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Soundtracks

Reload (Radio edit)
Written by Sebastian Ingrosso, Thomas Olsen, Vincent Pontare, Adam Baptiste, John Lindstrom Martin and Michel Zitron
Performed by Sebastian Ingrosso and Tommy Trash

User Reviews

A force of nature, both literally and figuratively

In a moment of weakness, a middle-aged father of two tries to save himself rather than his family in a dangerous situation, an action that has deep ramifications for their relationship. Winner of the Jury Prize in the Un Certain Regard competition in Cannes in 2014 and Sweden's official entry into the Oscar sweepstakes for Best Foreign Film, Ruben Ostlund's Force Majeure (original title Turist), his fourth feature and his first since Play (2011), is a biting satire that has sharp teeth. Filmed at an actual resort, Les Arcs, in France, a seemingly happy and well-adjusted family that includes Tomas (Johannes Bah Kuhnke), Ebba (Lisa Loven Kongsli), and their young children Harry (Vincent Wettergren) and Vera (Clara Wettergren), go on vacation at an expensive ski resort in the French Alps.

Ebba tells a friend that their purpose is to bring the family closer together since Tomas has been very busy at work. All seems well as they spend the first day hitting the slopes and taking pictures, but the idealized picture-postcard scene begins to unravel on the second day. Taking a break from skiing, the family has lunch at an outdoor restaurant with gorgeous mountain scenery in the background. When they suddenly witness a controlled avalanche, the force of the blowing snow seems to threaten everyone in the café. Instinctively, Ebba reaches out to protect her children, but Tomas, in a moment of panic, grabs his cell phone and runs for cover. His spur of the moment decision sends a message to the Ebba and the children, that in times of emergency, they could be abandoned.

No matter how it is rationalized away, the element of trust that cemented their relationship is broken beyond repair. To compound the problem, both seek to maintain control by suppressing and denying their feelings until they are no longer able to. In front of a couple of Norwegian friends, the divorced Mats (Kristofer Hivju), and his 20-year-old girlfriend, Fanni (Fanni Metelius), who come for a visit and are drawn into the argument, Tomas resorts to rationalization and denial. Absurdly, when they look at footage of the event captured by his cell phone, all Tomas can say is "I agree it looks like I'm running." Ebba's neat little world is also threatened by a friend telling her that she and her husband maintain an open relationship, even after having two children and it all works fine.

Unwilling or unable to acknowledge his action, Tomas beats himself up with guilt and engages in a prolonged crying jag which Ostlund characterizes as the moment when, "crying stops to be poetic and starts to be something that is just miserable— deeper and deeper — but doesn't create any sympathy, or empathy." Though wryly observant rather than intimate and may go on a bit too long, Force Majeure is smartly written, beautifully photographed, and darkly comic. Willing to confront deeply-rooted gender stereotypes and challenge us to look at our own life and see how we might have acted in a similar situation, it is a force of nature, both literally and figuratively.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site [France]

Country:

Sweden France Norway Denmark

Language:

Norwegian Italian Swedish English French

Release Date:

30 December 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

Force Majeure

Filming Locations:

Les Arcs, Savoie, France

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$23,309, 26 October 2014

Gross USA:

$1,359,497

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$4,094,339

Company Credits

Production Co:

ARTE, BLS Business Location Südtirol-Alto Adige, Beofilm

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1