Watched: Force Majeure (2014).
I saw this at the extremely strong recommendation of itsfrantastic, and I can see why - it’s a smart, brilliantly acted drama/black comedy that manages to do so much with very little.
The scene around which the film revolves takes place in a restaurant, a few minutes into the runtime. An explosion in the distance sets off a controlled avalanche that soon appears to be escalating, with the snowdrift stopping short of the building but engulfing the restaurant in a thick white fog. As the fog clears, the mother is desperately clutching her kids, but it soon becomes apparent that the father grabbed his gloves and his phone and ran off as soon as he thought he was in danger. And then there are 80 minutes left for things to fall apart.
I don’t know how to put it, really. This film was clever, but not in the sense that it was overly stylish or aspiring to any prestige labels. It’s a searing indictment of masculinity, but also comments on the human impulse to let arguments get in the way of common humanity. It’s telling that in this film, it’s often the kids that are the most mature characters and the proxy for the audience. It’s their presence that holds the film back from ever turning into full-on melodrama - their innocent, matter-of-fact gaze has a way of exposing the adult neuroses for what they are.