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THE FILMS OF RUBEN ÖSTLUND
TOURING RETROSPECTIVE
JANUARY–MARCH 2015 **** EXTENDED THROUGH APRIL 14
INVOLUNTARY (De ofrivilliga, 2008)
INVOLUNTARY
De ofrivilliga, 2008, 98m, Sweden
Swedish with English Subtitles
with Villmar Björkman, Maria Lundqvist, Linnea Cart-Lamy, Sara Eriksson, Cecilia Milocco, Leif Edlund Johansson
cinematography: Marius Dybwad Brandrud; produced by Erik Hemmendorff (also co-writer of screenplay)
Described by Östlund as “a tragic comedy or a comic tragedy,” the director’s second feature examines group dynamics and the dark side of human nature in five tales of social discord. In one, a teacher sees a colleague carry discipline too far and mentions the act in the staff room, with startling consequences. In another, a party host, afraid of losing face, unwisely neglects an injury. Two parallel stories detail groupthink among young men and women respectively. Co-written with Östlund’s long-time producer Erik Hemmendorff, and inspired by personal experiences, Involuntary situates the viewer inside each social powder keg, where recognition and uneasy laughter coalesce.
FORCE MAJEURE (Turist, 2014)
An avalanche in the French Alps sends a father scurrying for his life, leaving behind his panicked wife and children, in Östlund’s examination of the conflict between social role and survival instinct.
PLAY (2011)
Unabashedly impolite, Östlund’s record of racially charged harassment and societal paralysis offers food for thought and fuel for fury.
INCIDENT BY A BANK (Händelse vid bank, 2009)
Based on an actual account of a bank robbery witnessed by two bystanders across the street, Östlund’s concise study of surveillance may remind some viewers of Michael Haneke’s Caché.
INVOLUNTARY (De ofrivilliga, 2008)
Described by Östlund as “a tragic comedy or a comic tragedy,” the director’s second feature draws uneasy laughter through five examinations of bourgeois group dynamics.
AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL SCENE NUMBER 6882 (Scen nr: 6882 ur mitt liv, 2005)
A young man has second thoughts about his boast to jump from a bridge in this penetrating critique of peer pressure and the fragile male psyche.
GITARRMONGOT (2004)
Östlund’s mostly nonprofessional cast brings a documentary quality to this compassionate, humorous portrait of outsiders and nonconformists, focusing in particular on the titular musician, a young man facing dire obstacles in life.
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