Force Majeure ⛷

Happy Thursday! I hope you’ve been having a good week. Movies are better with friends, share the newsletter with them here.

Today’s movie is Force Majeure (2015), a black comedy directed by Swedish director Ruben Östlund, streaming on Hulu. An English-language remake called Downhill starring Will Farrell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus was released this year that left people ahem… running back to the original Swedish film.

Here’s what it’s about: Tomas (Johannes Bah Kuhnke), his wife Ebba (Lisa Loven Kongsli) and their two kids are enjoying a week of skiing in the French Alps. However, when an avalanche seems to threaten the family, a cowardly split-second decision by Tomas leaves things awkward for the rest of the trip. [Trailer // 119 mins]

Why you should watch it: Force Majeure is a disaster movie, but not in the way you think. Tomas’ decision to abandon his family in the face of potential catastrophe in favor of *check notes* himself sets off a chain of conversations that break down everyt…