Welcome respite from Hollywood fare (which The MacMahonian reveres, when it deserves it, but to which vows no exclusive fidelity) comes in the form of Turist.
Turist is Ruben Östlund's 4th feature film. His output and name were heretofore unknown to The MacMahonian and summary research revealed Östlund started his directing career with skiing films (it shows, more on this topic below) in the early 90s his.
Turist (English title, for once intelligent: Force Majeure) is a Swedish black comedy about a young couple and their 2 children who are spending a week's skiing holiday in a Massif Central resort. As they are taking a break from skiing in a lodge's exterior lounge, a controlled ski avalanche loses some of its control and almost engulfs the lounge's costumers. In panic, Tomas (Johannes Kuhnke, the father) flees the place, caring to pick up his gloves and cellphone as he goes but without not so much as turning back to see what happened to his wife and children. As the (snow)dust settles and the shock subsides, Ebba (Lisa Loven Kongsli, the mother) confronts Tomas with his behaviour – twice at least in the presence of others – inducing harrowing guilt and self-doubt upon him and parent-divorce anxiety upon the children. Tomas reacts by abjectly alternating between denial and penitence as their acquaintances offer sympathetic attempts at rationalization (the most delightful of which, comparing Tomas' reaction with the behaviour recommended to care givers in planes in case of depressurization - to put the mask on yourself before helping others – is given by friend Mats, played by Kristofer Hivju, of Game of Thrones fame) until final a minor mishap in the pistes (Ebba goes briefly astray and Tomas rescues her) straightens things, or at least appearances, up.
Turist alternates closed-space dramatic scenes with the most breathtaking snow filming in memory, and feels as if a script made for Billy Wilder ended up directed by Jacques Tati (whose camera placement, framing and set selection Turist often brings to mind) which, combined with a certain hitchcockness (guilt in the face of nothing bad having really happened, like a sort of reverse The Trouble with Harry(1955, itself a reverse-hitchcockian Hitchcock), make Turist a deadpan masterpiece.
The MacMahonian hopes Turist gets the attention it abundantly deserves and hopes there's more where it came from.