If you come into watching Force Majeure expecting a comedy, even a dark or dramatic one, you'll be very disappointed. It's not that the humor is too serious or dark for somebody's taste, it's just that it is not present. It's a case of false marketing. Some scenes are terribly awkward, and terribly unpleasant, sure. But to laugh at these scenes or to find them amusing is to not have a grain of empathy, and the actors really evoke it as they give complete, subtle but powerful performances. It's not only about empathy, it's not about whether the characters deserve their predicaments, it's about the realistic possibility of the events of a movie happening in random lives. It's not Meet the Parents awkward, it's the it can happen to you life-changing awkward. Grounded. As for the drama part, yes, the movie delivers on interesting themes, raising important questions yet somehow answering them too much on the nose each time. The pacing is too slow and there are parts which seem like are there only because the director wanted to cram as much of his ideas in a single movie.

Force Majeure (Swedish: Turist) (2014) This was a film about snow, families, marriages. Mostly, though, about the survival instinct. A Swiss family takes a vacation in the French Alps. A workaholic father, an attentive and loving mother, a son and a daughter, brother and younger sister. Tomas, Ebba, Vera, Harry. Plus Ebba's girlfriend, who seems to relish a polygamous lifestyle, Charlotte. Mats, an old friend of Tomas's, and his young twenty year old lover, Fanny. Day One. Family together, skis, uneventful. Ends with Vivaldi. Day Two. Family skis in the morning. Lunch, it becomes Avalanche Day. When Tomas grabs his belongings, runs from the scene. Escaping the avalanche, which fortunately never makes impact. Away from his wife. Away from his children. Away from his son calling, "Daddy!". Ebba looks around; she has never experienced anything like this in her life; she is scared; she clutches her children, looking for her husband. Vanished. Laughing, he returns to the table a few minutes later, as if nothing were wrong in the world. That night, dinner with Charlotte and her current man. Tomas insists he did no such thing, he would never run away, of course not. Ebba, plainly shocked into speechlessness. More sharp Vivaldi Concerto No. 2 chords. Day Three. Ebba wants an alone day. She returns to have dinner with Tomas' friends, finally admitting out loud how depressed she is that Tomas denies fleeing from get and the kids. Expressed how afraid she was. Tomas says nothing, even after they watch the video he filmed, clearly showing him running away. Discussion regarding survival instincts. Fanni tells Mats that she feels he would probably react as Tomas had because of his personality. He understandable takes offense and things are different between them after that. Vivaldi. Day Four. Guys day. Mats & Tomas are skiing alone. Mats convinces Tomas to try scream therapy. Tomas feels better. He returns to the hotel but cannot find Ebba. He goes back out and finds himself at a rave party. Non Vivaldi screaming music with sharp chords. Screams more. Pivotal scene. Outside their room, as they're children eavesdrop and hug each other in consolation, Thomas cries out that he hates that bad part of him, that he also suffers. Hates his cowardice. Here cheated in games with the children. Confesses to cheating in past. Final Day. Very foggy day. Ebba is lost in the snow. Tomas tells the children to stay where they are, leaves them to search for his wife. Follows her voice, successfully carries her back to reunite his family. Film ends with another scene showing how we react in survival situations. A bus ride down a winding mountain with sharp turns and driver is obviously not very skilled. Ebba panics, demands to be let out. Overreacting? The bus full of tourists is panicking, screaming, rushing out. Mats very firmly tells everyone to leave in a logical manner, women and children first, otherwise people will get hurt. Success. Charlotte (who previously stated she loved risks) remains in the bus along with a handful of others. Would the purpose of this scene be to show that Ebba can also overreact in what she deems to be a survival instincts situation? Still, she stays with her children by her side. They walk down the mountain. Close curtain. Three things. From a psychological standpoint, I liked this film, its exploration of what we do in a fight or flee survival situation, its refusal to take a side. Secondly, I personally do not feel that Tomas redeemed himself by saving Ebba on the last day of their vacation. Though since Ebba does not seem to want a divorce, I can see why she convinced herself that he did. Thirdly, weird music, sharp Vivaldi that serves as an interlude between days, maybe as foreshadowing to danger, was not to my liking. Other scenes of whiteness and snow and emptiness played well into overall message in film. For this film, the typical Scandinavian somber tone is apposite. Great camera work, Simple premise plays out well. Gives much to ponder. Haibun, "haikai writings", is a prosimetric (written partly in prose and partly in verse) poem in which a haiku is included after the prose, serving as its climax or epiphany. #Haibun #PoemReview

On release, FORCE MAJEURE was widely applauded as a bleak Swedish comic drama, in which a father's act of cowardice during a family skiing holiday has powerful repercussions for his place in the family. It sounded good, but having just endured watching it, I can report that the praise is unfounded. This is a simple character drama, of the type they make so many of, and it has little to recommend it. The events depicted early on are surprisingly trivial, and the film fails to make the protagonists in any way likable, so watching them argue, fight, and cry is a real chore. The actor from GAME OF THRONES is the only thing I liked about this slow, slight, and uninteresting tale, which is about as interesting as watching paint dry.

I had heard the basic plot of this film described and was curious how it would work. I assumed that the main event of the avalanche would be a bigger moment and with lasting physical consequences (for some reason I pictured the family alone in a cabin for the tensions to build). Instead the traumatic event of the film is less impacting in its physical moment, almost to the point where I wondered what the film would do for the remainder of its two hour running time. What it does is slow but satisfying in the way it unfolds. From this moment we watch the characters fracture and struggle; as individuals and as a family. It is not wholly successful but in the main part it plays out well.The slow pace and long takes are part of the film working, as they set a tone of tension which mostly exists in a vacuum of silence. This occurs not only in the context of the landscape, but also in the smaller shots – for instance the amount of time we spend behind the characters as they stand with their backs to us. I liked the slightly invasive feel this gave the film, as it did feel like we were watching scenes play out, rather than them being played out for the viewer. This relies a lot on the cast to deliver within this space, and mostly they do. Some of the characters feel added for the sake of the narrative, but in the case of the lead two they are strong in their individual and joint performances. The tension between them, and their own struggles as people, are presented in a convincing and engaging way. It doesn't matter that you do not like the characters per se, but they are interesting – even if I ended the film not liking who Tomas is, I enjoyed understanding him better.The pace is at times a bit too slow and the running time a bit long, but mostly the film controls it very well. It is impressive how well the tone and pace is established in the shoot, and the design and construction of the film comes together. Mostly though it is a film made in the small moments, the interactions, and the internal fracturing/testing of characters. The conclusions are not cheerful perhaps but it is cleverly done and I enjoyed how well it delivered the characters.