{"id":89777,"date":"2025-07-21T18:34:58","date_gmt":"2025-07-21T18:34:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ccmagazine.es\/?p=89777"},"modified":"2025-07-22T15:46:54","modified_gmt":"2025-07-22T15:46:54","slug":"force-majeure-when-fear-strips-us-bare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ccmagazine.es\/en\/force-majeure-when-fear-strips-us-bare\/","title":{"rendered":"“Force Majeure”: when fear strips us bare"},"content":{"rendered":"

You know our motto well: “We care more about quality than novelty”<\/em>. And that means, among other things, that while we love writing about and recommending films currently in cinemas, we also enjoy revisiting those that, despite the passing of time, continue to thrill us. “Force Majeure”<\/strong> (Turist, 2014)<\/em>, by Swedish director Ruben \u00d6stlund<\/strong>, is one such film. It runs for just 120 minutes and not only portrays a relationship crisis with surgical precision, but also poses \u2014 without heavy-handedness or melodrama \u2014 a question as ancient as it is unsettling: What would you do if fear caught you off guard?<\/p>\n

Winner of the Jury Prize in the Un Certain Regard<\/em> section at Cannes, nominated for a Golden Globe<\/em> and deserving of far more Oscar<\/em> recognition, this film was \u00d6stlund<\/em>\u2019s international breakout before becoming the only Swedish director to win two Palme d\u2019Ors<\/em> (for “The Square”<\/em> and “Triangle of Sadness”<\/em>). But beyond the accolades, what makes “Force Majeure”<\/em> truly remarkable is its ability to transform the everyday \u2014 a family ski holiday in the Alps \u2014 into an emotional battleground where the roles of the father, masculinity, and our self-image begin to unravel.<\/p>\n

The moment everything breaks<\/h6>\n

The entire film hinges on a single scene: a controlled avalanche suddenly surges toward the restaurant terrace where tourists are dining. In the chaos, Ebba<\/em> \u2014 the mother \u2014 instinctively shields the children, while Tomas<\/em> \u2014 the father \u2014 flees with his phone and gloves. No one is hurt. It\u2019s just a scare. But symbolically, something crucial dies: the unspoken contract that holds the family together \u2014 the belief that the father will protect, guide, sacrifice.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no blood. No shouting. Just the kind of silence that lingers \u2014 through dinners, walks, conversations that no longer flow. The awkward silence we all know, when someone falls short \u2014 or we do.<\/p>\n

The fall of the domestic hero<\/h6>\n

Tomas<\/em> isn\u2019t a villain. He\u2019s an ordinary man. A middle-class father, well-meaning and affectionate, who works hard and loves his family. But his instinctive flight strips him bare. Suddenly, he must confront something no parenting manual or photo album prepares you for: deep, irrational fear.<\/p>\n

What makes “Force Majeure”<\/em> so compelling isn\u2019t just Tomas<\/em>\u2019s reaction, but his collapse afterward. His need for forgiveness, to reclaim his symbolic role, his wounded masculinity. \u00d6stlund<\/em> frames this internal struggle as a subdued satire \u2014 we see Tomas unravel, attempting \u2014 sometimes pathetically \u2014 to rebuild his image. Not just for others, but for himself.<\/p>\n

A fable about modern ego<\/h6>\n

We live in a culture that rewards self-control, curated identities, heroic self-narratives. We post our achievements, travels, and dinners on Instagram. But what happens when fear, chaos, and unpredictability creep in?<\/p>\n

“Force Majeure” <\/em>explores the fragility of our personal stories. Tomas<\/em> is forced to look inward \u2014 and doesn\u2019t like what he sees. He\u2019s not the fearless protector, nor the dependable man. He is, like all of us, a complex human being full of contradictions.<\/p>\n

The film isn\u2019t just about a couple. It\u2019s about all of us. About how we respond to our own personal avalanches \u2014 a loss, a diagnosis, a betrayal, a call that changes everything. Do we run? Freeze? Protect others, or just ourselves?<\/p>\n

The weight of gender and the female gaze<\/h6>\n

Ebba<\/em>, the wife, doesn\u2019t rage. She\u2019s quietly devastated. She wants to understand what happened \u2014 and why she can\u2019t let it go. Her pain stems not only from the incident, but from what it symbolises: the collapse of everything she thought was true. The pillar of her family \u2014 the idea of Tomas as protector \u2014 might have been an illusion.<\/p>\n

\u00d6stlund<\/em> wisely avoids turning Ebba<\/em> into a victim or Tomas into a monster. Instead, he presents two people trapped in roles they didn\u2019t choose, trying to salvage something that may no longer be salvageable.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe film isn\u2019t just about a couple. It\u2019s about all of us. About how we respond to our own personal avalanches.\u201d<\/h2>\n
Beyond marriage: a reflection on life itself<\/h6>\n

This editorial isn\u2019t meant to offer a psychological reading of a film, but rather to invite a deeper reflection. Force Majeure <\/em>isn\u2019t only about marriage. It\u2019s about life in the modern world \u2014 about how we deal with uncertainty, and the masks we wear to feel safe.<\/p>\n

We go through life believing we are brave, coherent, loyal. But then life tests us. Sometimes, like Tomas<\/em>, there\u2019s no time to think. Only instinct. And instinct reveals the truth.<\/p>\n

So the real question isn\u2019t just “what would you do in an avalanche?” It\u2019s “what do you do when fear rips off your mask?”<\/p>\n

The need to forgive ourselves<\/h6>\n

One of the film\u2019s great strengths is its refusal to offer punishment or redemption. There\u2019s no revenge, no sweeping absolution. Just small gestures of understanding, silent exchanges, moments of tentative closeness. Tomas<\/em> cries, confesses, breaks down. And though forgiveness isn\u2019t immediate, something deeper emerges: an acceptance of fragility. A chance to rebuild something more honest atop the ruins of illusion.<\/p>\n

In a world that demands perfection, perhaps what we need most is the opposite: the ability to fail, to fear, to be vulnerable without shame.<\/p>\n

An ending on a treacherous curve<\/h6>\n

The final scene is brilliant. The family is on a coach navigating a winding mountain road. The driver is erratic. Ebba<\/em> asks him to stop. There\u2019s fear. This time, she rises to protect the children. Tomas<\/em> does too \u2014 albeit more hesitantly. The tourists disembark. They walk, children in hand, along the snow-covered roadside. Nothing is fully resolved. But something has shifted. No one is quite the same.<\/p>\n

Perhaps this is the ultimate message of “Force Majeure”<\/em>: we are not heroes or cowards \u2014 we are human. And as long as we keep walking together, even if it\u2019s on the icy edge of a mountain road, there\u2019s hope.<\/p>\n

Available on Filmin.<\/p>\n

(*)<\/strong> Photo: Asif Khan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You know our motto well: “We care more about quality than novelty”. And that means, among other things, that while we love writing about and recommending films currently in cinemas, we also enjoy revisiting those that, despite the passing of time, continue to thrill us. “Force Majeure” (Turist, 2014), by Swedish director Ruben \u00d6stlund, is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":89794,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5904,5903],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-89777","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cinema","category-culture-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n"Force Majeure": when fear strips us bare<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"An article on Ruben \u00d6stlund\u2019s Force Majeure, going beyond the couple\u2019s crisis to explore fear, ego, and vulnerability in modern life.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, 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