I have seen 'Force Majeure' described as a comedy; but if so, it's an exceptionally black one, for it focuses on a dark question: what if our best isn't good enough, and our conscious efforts count for little when set against our instincts? None of the characters in this film are bad people; but whether they can make each other happy remains unresolved even at the movie's ambiguous ending. It's cleverly plotted, and makes skilful use of its secondary characters. But the final message is bleak: perhaps the most we can do is acknowlege that in a deep way, we're all really alone.

This Swedish film made the short list of nine which were vying for the Best Foreign Language Oscar, though ultimately it was not one of the final nominees. This would indicate that the movie is a really good film. However, I wasn't particularly impressed by the production--mostly because what occurs in the film easily could have been said in an hour. Instead, the film is two hours long and it really, really drags. Because of this, although some film experts might love the movie, I think the average viewer would be bored silly after a while. Heck, many might be inclined just to watch the film in fast-forward mode because it's that slow.

The idea behind the film is pretty unique. A family is taking a ski vacation when, out of the blue, there is an avalanche right next to the restaurant where they are eating. The mother tries to get her children to safety but the dad instinctively runs to save himself. Not surprisingly, this ends up causing a serious rift in their marriage--much of it, presumably, because of the stereotype that the man MUST behave bravely and heroically. Following this, the wife spends much of the film emasculating her husband--talking all about this incident in front of others and showing contempt for him. Later, the husband gets in touch with his feelings and spends much of the last third of the film crying.

There are multiple problems with "Force Majeure other than it being overlong. The avalanche incident happens way too early in the film and because of this, there isn't a lot of tension or build up to the major plot point. Plus who the family is and their relationships aren't really very well defined--so how this effects them after isn't totally clear. Finally, I assume that the husband was supposed to get in touch with his inner pain and disappointment in himself late in the movie. However, my daughter and I watched and felt that he came off as rather histrionic and the emotional scenes seemed rather fake. Overall, I wanted to like this film so much more than I did. Perhaps I am being too harsh about it--and as always I'd love to know what you think.

By the way, here in the States, this film came out in the last few days on DVD. It is also available on Netflix.

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.