Force Majeure — Sweden

By Dan Clendenin

           Tomas has worked long hours, so he takes everyone on a ski vacation to the French Alps in order to "focus on the family." He gets much more than he bargained for. They look like the picture perfect family in their ski slope photos — his wife Ebba, and their two kids, Vera and Harry. But when they're traumatized by a "controlled avalanche" at the mountain side restaurant, and then remember the event differently, Tomas and Ebba are forced to discover what their marriage is really about. The title of the film is a legal term and the key to understanding the movie. A "force majeure" is an unavoidable accident or extraordinary event beyond your control that frees both parties of a contract from their respective obligations. This film won the Cannes "Un Certain Regard Jury Prize," and Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 93% fresh rating, although in my viewing both of those judgments are over rated.