3/11/2015

Coming Soon: In Case of No Emergency: The Films of Ruben Östlund

Kristofer Hivju and Johannes Bah Kuhnke in Force MAjeure,
a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.
Did you get a chance to see Force Majeure when it screened at the European Union Film Festival last year? If not a) shame on you and b) fret not, for there’s another chance to see it! Fans of the great Swedish satire will want to catch the upcoming retrospective of the films of Ruben Östlund and see the larger body of work in which the dark humour of Force Majeure falls. The Canadian Film Institute (CFI), in partnership with the Embassy of Sweden in Canada and with the participation of Carleton University’s Film Studies Department and students, presents In Case of No Emergency: The Films of Ruben Östlund, a series of the director’s work featuring four feature films and two short films. Force Majeure might be the filmmaker’s most high profile hit to date after winning the Grand Jury Prize in the Un Certain Regard programme at last year’s Cannes Film Festival and being Sweden’s official submission for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars where it went all the way to the January shortlist, and it’s a must see if you missed it. It really should have won the whole thing, but the director one-upped the Academy with his hilarious Oscar reaction video, which is a great addition to the cutting play on manliness in Force Majeure. The series runs March 21 and 28, so there’s plenty of time to practice your best (re: worst) man-cry ever!

The line-up for In Case of No Emergency: The Films of Ruben Östlund is as follows:

Play
2011 | Sweden| 118 min.
Saturday, March 21 at 6:30 pm
In Swedish with English subtitles
-Synopsis: An astute observation based on real cases of bullying. In central Gothenburg, Sweden, a group of boys, aged 12-14, robbed other children on about 40 occasions between 2006 and 2008. The thieves used an elaborate scheme called the 'little brother number' or 'brother trick', involving advanced role-play and gang rhetoric rather than physical violence.
-Sweden’s Official Selection for Best Foreign Language Film


Force Majeure (Turist)
2014 | Sweden| 118 min.
Saturday, March 21 at 9:00 pm
In Swedish with English subtitles
-Synopsis: A critical favorite at the Cannes Film Festival, where it took the Jury Prize in Un Certain Regard, this wickedly funny and precisely observed psychodrama tells the story of a model Swedish family—handsome businessman Tomas, his willowy wife Ebba and their two blond children—on a skiing holiday in the French Alps. The sun is shining and the slopes are spectacular but, during a lunch at a mountainside restaurant, an avalanche suddenly bears down on the happy diners. With people fleeing in all directions and his wife and children in a state of panic, Tomas makes a decision that will shake his marriage to its core and leave him struggling to reclaim his role as family patriarch.
-Review: 4.5 stars!


Involuntary (De ofrivilliga)
2008 | Sweden | 98 min
Saturday, March 28 at 7:00 pm
In Swedish with English subtitles
-Synopsis: It's almost summer in Sweden and minor indiscretions and misbehavior abound. Leffe likes to show off for his friends and play salacious pranks, especially when he's drinking. Meanwhile, a righteous grade-school teacher doesn't know where to draw the line: she insists her fellow educators need a bit of instruction. Then there are two young teenage girls who like to pose for sexy photos and to party, but one night in a park, one of them is found passed out drunk by a complete stranger.

Preceded by Incident By a Bank (Händelse vid bank)
Sweden | 2009 | 12 min.
-Winner: Golden Bear for Best Short Film, Berlin International Film Festival


The Guitar Mongoloid (Gitarrmongot)
Sweden | 2004 | 89 min.
Saturday, March 28 at 9:00 pm
In Swedish with English subtitles
-Synopsis: This is Ruben Östlund’s first full-length feature film, for which he was awarded the FIPRESCI Award at the 27th Moscow International Film Festival. Its loose narrative follows an abundance of recurring characters around the fictional city of Jöteborg, allowing the city to act as a character itself. These characters, that are essentially playing themselves, are connected only through this city and their penchant for delinquency and the obscene; they are not bound by the norms of society. This ranges from mere childlike indecency and mischievousness to potentially life threatening situations. Östlund’s adherence to fixed camera perspective is effectively demonstrated in this film. Instead of following his characters around Jöteborg, he simply allows the events of the city to unfold in front of the camera.

Preceded by Autobiographical Scene Number 6882 (Scen nr: 6882 ur mitt liv)
Sweden | 2005 | 9 min.                                                       


In Case of No Emergency: The Films of Ruben Östlund runs March 21 and 28.
All screenings are at the River Building Theatre, Carleton University.
(Friendly reminder that there's free parking across the street at Brewer Park!)

Please visit www.cfi-icf.ca for more info on tickets and showtimes.