DennisBowman

A Swedish couple ( Johannes Kuhnke and Lisa Loven Kongsli) are on a week’s skiing vacation in the French Alps with their children. At the beginning of the trip, a frightening incident brings out the worst impulses in one of the family members. The remainder of the film is the fallout of this incident. Director Ruben Ostlund does a great job with a fine cast in displaying tension below and above the surface. The beginning is the proverbial “dinosaur in the living room” situation where everyone pretends that nothing happened while trying in vain to hide their feelings. When feelings can’t be hidden any more, things get really interesting. Kuhnke and Kongsli are great in their roles especially Kuhnke during a major meltdown scene. “Force Majeure” shows that we may never know what our true instincts are until a major event happens. The pivotal event at the film’s beginning ripples into how it affects another couple who are informed of the situation and how one member’s instincts are also brought to the surface. There were two events near the end of the film that might not have been necessary (or at least could have been shortened) though they still do add interesting information to the equation. The second last scene seems contrived at times; the last scene seemed to add unnecessary drama though a small crowd scene strongly shows the fate of two secondary characters. But these complaints don’t stop “Force Majeure” from being one of the best movies of 2014. RATING (out of four stars): * * * 1/2