Östlund - with his usual narrative talent and ability to unsettle - questions the place of a man as the protector of his family in a film that's perhaps a little less provocative than his previous work. [Full review in Spanish]

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Sep 27, 2023

The movie doesn’t criticize the idea that Tomas has to be a hero to be a man. Rather it criticizes him for not being a hero and recuperates him by allowing him to be heroic.

| May 19, 2023

Östlund doesn’t judge. He’s more interested in questioning the expectations and obligations and starting a discussion that audiences can carry on after the film ends.

| Mar 4, 2023

“Force Majeure” is such a brutally honest film, and it doesn’t use kid gloves when handling its material.

| Original Score: 4.5/5 | Aug 20, 2022

There is nothing about 'Force Majeure' that puts you at ease.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Oct 26, 2021

If you're going to watch a drama about a family vacationing in the French Alps who are confronted with a devastating avalanche that exposes the façade that surrounds them - make it this one. Just brilliant.

| Sep 14, 2021

A scathing psychological drama that unravels in the chill of the French Alps.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jun 2, 2021

A high wire balancing act that juggles the observation of Tomas's disintegration and, less satisfyingly, his redemption.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 2, 2021

The aftermath, played out against the imposing beauty of the Alps and the vast wooden hallways of a sparsely stylish hotel, is fraught with riveting tension, only exacerbated by Ola Flottum's soaring score.

| Original Score: 4.5/5 | Aug 26, 2020

A biting look at the people we become.

| Original Score: A | Jul 7, 2020

While it all sounds very serious, Ostlund creates a very funny movie.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Nov 27, 2019

See it with someone with whom you want to feel weird holding hands.

| Aug 31, 2019

Like the avalanche, it follows an unpredictable trajectory, traversing the edge of drama and comedy, as we appreciate the strange beauty of losing our bearings.

| Aug 8, 2019

That absence of a strong conclusion, along with the comedic tone, makes Force Majeure light on its feet, an enjoyable but not too penetrative exploration of a fascinating topic.

| Original Score: 7.6/10 | Jun 11, 2019

Force majeure is a legal term denoting an unforeseen, disruptive event that obstructs the fulfillment of a contract. In the film, it is a synonym for avalanche; the contract in question, marriage and family.

| Apr 30, 2019

Acting is uniformly great, the players conveying as much of their struggles using body language as with words, while Ostlund's white-out scenery is both majestic and alienating.

| Original Score: 8/10 | Apr 17, 2019

Force Majeure is a gripping and deftly observed drama that adds caustic condemnation through its embracing of humour.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Apr 4, 2019

The film is incredibly thought-provoking and a frequently funny study of a floundering family dynamic.

| Original Score: B+ | Dec 8, 2018

An avalanche descends on a family of tourists and it's not even among the five worst things to happen to them on their cursed ski trip in Force Majeure, the blackly comic Swedish psychodrama from director Ruben Östlund.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Nov 21, 2018

The early, seminal avalanche scene is a particular masterclass in direction - its effect is as uncanny as the sense of unease it spawns in the married couple.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 5, 2018