Multiplex Yeah! I noticed how Tomas would lie about being on his phone and other little things like that. Some really awesome acting/directing. You feeling it for the win?

I preferred Two Days One Night (only slightly) but a lot more people are talking about Force Majeure so it's probably got a better shot. Sometimes foreign goes in a weird direction though, so I'm unsure. Wouldn't be surprised if Ida won either.

Very true. Plus, it's not like the Academy members watch them all. How many watch The Great Beauty? haha

AtZ Reviews TheWrap.com just posted a really interesting article about how movies get nominated actually! From the article, "volunteers from all branches of the Academy (the “general committee”) participate in a first round of voting that helps narrow the field down to nine shortlisted films. The weekend before Oscar nominations, the shortlist will be narrowed to five nominees by 10 randomly chosen members of the general committee and 30 hand-picked Academy members in Los Angeles, New York and London, who will view all of the shortlisted films and vote." So it definitely seems like getting noticed early is key.

Multiplex Oooh. Checked it out, interesting stuff! And yeah, I've noticed by the amount of screeners studios start sending out in the fall lol

I agree on your take 100%. To me, that scene revealed the shaky ground the family was on in the first place. So even though Ebba, tried to repair the family dynamic by pretending to be hurt and have Tomas save her, it was for nothing because another potentially dangerous situation happened and Tomas did not take control. So now on the bus, she decides...f$ck it, I can't depend on my husband for protection, I'm taking over until I can find someone that can be the protector I need. To me the joke was Ebba choosing Mat to be the protector carrying his daughter. Matt's 20 yr old girlfriend sees this and starts to walk by his side, acknowledging that she believes and trusts him as the protector (when earlier in the movie, they had an argument about her initially believing that he's cowardly, just like Tomas). Another joke is how Tomas's son keeps looking at him and asks him if he smokes.....but how about you carry your son, like your friend is carrying your daughter? 😆. I found all of that hilarious.

I get what you two are saying. And it’s much closer than what he says in the video to what I think. I think the final scene shows that there are roles in relationships and it also tells you that not always the person that stands up against adversity is always the man. In this case the wife has the more protective instincts. So getting the bus to stop is not at all opting out. It is the other way. It is embracing her role in the relationship and taking care of the family when things are tough. The scene of the planned rescue for me shows that after his breakdown with the kids and his new sincerity with her made the relationship much stronger than before. It is just that they accepted the real dynamics of it instead of pretending and trying to follow society’a model of a “perfect relationship “

@@franciscollorens7832 I really like this interpretation of events. This whole movie made me think of gender roles and how they come into question in a relationship, with Ebba being hardline about her expectations for the majority of the film. But what do you think about the theory that Ebba selfishly stopped the bus? As she got off first and was the only one to speak up really, and didn't help her kids or husband off the bus. Maybe her greatest fear was falling off a cliff in a bus, not an avalanche. I think the idea that she stopped the bus and escaped first on purpose to get back at her husband (as some other commenters have stated) is extremely machiavellian and would make her a horrible person, so I don't agree with that.

This is bs interpretation because she is panicking in the bus and do not go for the kids when bus opens the door but she run outside as fast as possible and sobs while Tomas is telling the kids to take their stuffs

This couple needs to accept their roles in their relationship and embrace them, and the only way to do this constructively is for him to become a submissive cuck and have her peg him.

Great point! Can't wait to revisit this film on Netflix soon

This is soooo true. In my job we see the souless people who do not care but for each other but themselves

Nah cause the driver could have kept going. She just got flustered, demanded to get off and ran out the door. And of course the Dad is going to usher his kids off too. It would be irresponsible to let your kids go ahead for risk of people becoming agitated and them getting hurt, or the kids panicking and starting more commotion. He didn't push other kids out of the way. That's why he's so content at the end. He realises he's attained a bit of redemption. And I think that's what the cigarette represents too - embracing a bit of the dangers of life for the reward of living a life on his own terms and one that he can be more proud of.

Karin Medeiros Nice input! I definitely think they won't bounce back. But interesting to wonder what would happen once they're back home and he goes back to work, leaving his family once again like Ebba stated earlier in the film. Thanks for the comment!

Karin Medeiros I like your take on it, although I wouldn't just say that his wife *expects* him to be the perfect father/husband, as much as they only know each other in roles where they have both been trying to be perfect. I wouldn't blame her, she seems cool, so does he. If anything its the gender roles they played in the marriage that caused expectations. Probably did a pretty good job of it too until this trip. I think this film captures the subtle nuances that are also so important in modern gender identity / marriage roles that are no less important just because we're not our parents generation. I think what women won't get (that's a polarizing thing to say I know) is that men in a marriage also *want* to be perfect -not just out of pressure from their wives. Men want to live up to an image just like women want to live up to an image, but men are less open to admitting it. We don't exactly live in a culture that fosters open disclosure by men of their feelings. A perfect example being when Tomas asks his friend Mat on the mountain "Can we just talk?' and is met with "What do you want to talk about?" --deflecting the invitation on a condition (instead of saying "Sure, what's wrong?") and gives a recommendation for a quick fix --Mat tries to help telling him "just scream it out". That's how we men often end up talking to each other. "What, you have an emotion thing? Umm, here try this." This movie speaks in subtle ways about how necessary it is for a man to feel like he at least is brave and gets to be a hero sometimes. That whole scene of him carrying his wife back to the kids after she got stranded on the slopes -he didn't need to carry her, she was fine, but he got to play that role. Its lame but I felt that pride he felt, carrying his wife back. I wouldn't say that with a straight face back before I got married or had a kid, but I knew exactly what he was going through now that I am a father & married. Him running during that avalanche threatened not only their marriage but his identity as a protector / hero. So much so that he denied it, less out of guilt and more out of actual denial --not wanting to be that guy who ran. He even said 'I hate that guy,' referring to himself in that moment. Like Mat's 20 year old girlfriend in the film, referring to how Mat and Tomas are 'that type of man' -she likely could mean cowardly men. Neither man wants to be seen as cowardly. I also don't think Tomas seem to be suppressing anger after she bolts off the bus. His look is more like 'See? You would do it, too. We're human.' Now he gets to go back to being a man in the traditional sense, and in that sense equilibrium is restored. Regardless of how far we've come, the archetypes we live with in terms of a marriage often insist that men be one way and women another. We don't have to follow these, but in the film it's an example of a modern marriage where they did. It's not either gender's fault, but it's a shame when both genders are not able to break out of that image. It sounds ludicrous but its necessary for a lot of people. Anyway I'm sure you get that, I'm just speaking to whoever.

Excellent comment!

Hey, that's a really good take on the film,Thanks. I thought the same but felt mebbe I was overthinking it.. Cheers

@@_SPREZZATURA_McGEE_ With good films, you're rarely overthinking it. A great storytelling director plans everything meticulously in a film.

Definitely agree on fear as the force majeure

Especially when in some 3rd world countries a father would happily sacrifice his kids to save his own skin. I’ve seen it while serving in Afghanistan. A father will happily give up his child, especially if it’s a girl to save himself.

I really don't see the last scene that way. As he "lost" his manliness when he ran for his life I see this as the scene where he regains it, at least in the eyes of everybody around him. He did not accept his flaws, he just perfectly hides them to himself and everybody else.

And after beardy man does the calm and protective thing, his gf shuns him. Maybe she preferred it when she could accuse him of being the cowardly, every man for himself type.

Gabriel Campos Thanks!

bruce chen Actually, if you listen to the director and actors interviews, a lot of it wasn't written in the screenplay, so that's a pretty broad statement...unless you have a copy of course. I definitely see the double standard, however, again within their interviews they mention the definition of the title, and how it's about one party making a compromise for the betterment of others. So since Force Majeure is the title......what force majeure is there in that ending? No reason to name the movie that (about compromise) and then not have a compromise at the end. As we see, the husband saving his wife was already a staged act for the kids to convince them about their dad being manly. The final act on the bus was from the wife to convince her husband now that he was still manly. She makes the comprise, the force majeure of the film.

Travis Harris Yeah...I think we're agreeing on similar points lol. The wife 'sacrifices' (aka the Force Majeure) her being right in order to make the husband feel better. So he can feel more *masculine*. That way he can feel better and forget about the fact that he ran away and left his family, cause now his wife did the same. However, as I noted from the director, the scene where she gets "lost" is actually all supposed to be a setup for the children. That way they can see their father as a hero again.

AtZ Reviews so do you believe that the wife wasn't scared on the bus? Because she definitely didn't seem to me like she was acting (within the context of the move)scared as a way of compromise? Maybe the compromise is between your own desires such as to be a good parental figure, and the compromise of living as a mortal human in a world that will eventually kill you

I believe so. I mean, remember how bad the husband freaked out? She had to do something on that same level to make *him* feel better. The fact it seems so believable, shows that she pulled off exactly what the title says.

AtZ Reviews hmmm interesting, I don't know if I see it that way because if I remember correctly she sits down after the first couple complaints and I believe other people on the bus were gasping and frightened themselves (not just frightened because she was frightened) but I only saw it once so I could very well be wrong. Great review and channel!

Yeah. I see the ending as roles being reversed, Ebba is now the dominant one and took control by stopping the bus for their safety. I don't think she left her kids, the bus is stopped anyway. It's a different situation from the avalanche. I too also think Tomas smoked because he knows he's getting a divorce or some shit lol

serenityq26 It is a pretty simple story. But yeah, a lot of little nuances here and there

just hearing your review i was waiting to hear what genre you would put it in: drama, comedy. i get that the family is going on a vacation but is it like a satire on family films or on affluent people? what was the main struggle/conflict in the film? it seems to be a lot of different things going on and can be taken from the film

serenityq26 I'd say more of a character study of a family, so drama. Some funny parts, but I didn't see it as satire. Pretty much the conflict is- A controlled avalanche happens during breakfast and the mist covers them. Everything is safe, but it's how the two (parents) react. The mother stays and covers her children, while the father dips lol. So what happens to the family then? And thus, you see this small reaction breakdown the family.

ah gotcha. that scene was kinda funny. ill see if i can watch it this weekend

serenityq26 Let me know what you think!

Brenda Kern That's one way of looking at it. Or the other when you factor in the force majeure- her compromising to save her family

Nice take on the true meaning , I was a little foggy when I stabbed at it

Brenda Kern It's a movie that definitely has many layers and really, at the end, is left up to interpretation. But thanks for sharing your viewpoint of it! Always here to talk about movies!

Mladen Kulic Gets funnier the second time haha

Funny but also true

It's exactly for them. They get the message, leave, and then I can discuss it with people who actually care.

Nice. Well, I like what you said about the film. I like what you're doing. It's thoughtful, critical and honest. Subbed.

Look forward to talking movies with you, sir.

The American Remake spelled it out for you. Poor comment.