What a curious thing: a disaster film without a disaster. When an avalanche cascades towards the alpine skiing resort where Swedish businessman Tomas (Johannes Kuhnke), his wife Ebba (Lisa Loven Kongsli) and their two children, Vera and Harry, are staying, we expect them to get swept away or trapped under the snow, and for the subsequent action to follow the valiant efforts of those who try and save them. But this doesn't happen - the snow settles, the fog dissipates, and everything goes back to normal.
Only it doesn't. During the incident we briefly saw Tomas run away from his family and screaming children, a cowardly act of survival that, more than anything else, paints him as the world's worst father. He sheepishly returns and pretends that nothing has happened - but everyone else, from promiscuous Charlotte (Karin Myrenberg) to best mate Mats (Kristofer Hivju, fresh from Game of Thrones), knows better. And as Tomas continues to deny everything that's happened the marital troubles between him and his wife pile up until they threaten to burst out of themselves and cascade down the mountain of their relationship (sorry, too much).
It's an entertaining film, especially in how boldly it utilises its big-screen visuals to tell an atmospheric, mature, and sometimes very funny story. The film begins by layering a bombastic Vivaldi score over scenes of controlled explosions on the slopes, and features extended long-shots of characters scurrying through the snow like ants - I can't remember the last time a setting was used to such literal narrative effect, but it all works beautifully. The humour is black, sometimes excruciating, and some of the touches are surreal - one scene briefly adopts the view of a drone controlled by a child - but none of this is achieved at the expense of the characters, for whom our sympathies are constantly changing. Its only significant flaw is a marginally disappointing ending, which is forgivable. Good stuff.
★★★★
★★★★
