Wife or phone, which would you die for?
THe literal definition of the French expression ‘ force majeure’ is ‘superior force’, but in a legal context it means unavoidable circumstances excusing liability for an accident. in Ruben Ostlund’s intriguing drama, it is ambiguously meant.
A handsome, well-heeled Swedish family — mum, dad, two lovely kids — are on a skiing holiday in the French Alps. During an idyllic lunch on the terrace of a mountain restaurant, a supposedly controlled avalanche rolls dangerously towards them.
in the confusion as the snow cloud billows around them, the mother’s response is to protect her children; the father’s instinct is to run like hell, though not before grabbing his mobile phone. Fissures appear and grow in the couple’s relationship as they reflect on what happened and share the tale with others.
it’s sometimes very funny, in a dark, twisted way, and never less than thought-provoking, especially for those of us who are dads, and have taken our children skiing or sailing, or into any situation where their well-being might suddenly be threatened. What would i have done? The right thing, i hope, but which of us knows for sure until it happens? THe humour in Hot Tub Time
Machine 2 is less subtle . . . to the power of about 10,000, as the newly rich and famous Lou (Rob Corddry) and Nick (Craig Robinson) embark on another adventure in their magical machine, ending up in the near future.
Lou is lauded as an inventor, but when he throws a party at his mansion, named Shangri-Lou, his sardonic son Jacob (Clark Duke) points out that his dad couldn’t ‘invent his way out of a paper bag’. He knows this because he recently found himself in a giant paper bag, and couldn’t escape from it.
That’s the level of comedy here, and it gets much more crass but no more funny. Mind you, i’ll admit to sitting near a grown man at the screening i attended who, a little worryingly, chuckled throughout.