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| Force Majeure's Ruben Östlund: 'Men are made to feel like they should protect' | Force Majeure's Ruben Östlund: 'Men are made to feel like they should protect' |
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| SA Andrée died of shame in October 1897. Three months earlier, the Swedish adventurer had set out to be the first to reach the north pole. He travelled by helium balloon. A patent office engineer by trade, Andrée was an amateur balloonist, but an expert salesman. He had convinced the public that he would make the dangerous voyage with ease. In fact, Andrée knew he was underprepared and ill-equipped. Even before he launched, he suspected he might not return. He couldn’t admit that of course. That would be far too embarrassing. | SA Andrée died of shame in October 1897. Three months earlier, the Swedish adventurer had set out to be the first to reach the north pole. He travelled by helium balloon. A patent office engineer by trade, Andrée was an amateur balloonist, but an expert salesman. He had convinced the public that he would make the dangerous voyage with ease. In fact, Andrée knew he was underprepared and ill-equipped. Even before he launched, he suspected he might not return. He couldn’t admit that of course. That would be far too embarrassing. |
| Andrée’s balloon, the Eagle, lurched along for two days before crashing on the ice. Andrée and his co-pilots salvaged what they could and made for the nearest food depot, some six weeks march away. They ran out of food. They ate gulls, walrus and polar bear to survive. All three died within months. | Andrée’s balloon, the Eagle, lurched along for two days before crashing on the ice. Andrée and his co-pilots salvaged what they could and made for the nearest food depot, some six weeks march away. They ran out of food. They ate gulls, walrus and polar bear to survive. All three died within months. |
| Director Ruben Östlund loves stories about the fear of losing face. Andrée inspired him. “You could read in his diary that he didn’t believe in the project,” he says. “But the social loss would have been so great that he would have rather killed himself and his crew than admit he was wrong.” | Director Ruben Östlund loves stories about the fear of losing face. Andrée inspired him. “You could read in his diary that he didn’t believe in the project,” he says. “But the social loss would have been so great that he would have rather killed himself and his crew than admit he was wrong.” |
| Östlund’s films are nasty, funny dramas that deal in skewed self-image and challenge our presumptions that we’re rational and civilised. His latest, Force Majeure, is about Tomas, a father of two on a skiing holiday who abandons his family when he thinks an avalanche is about to engulf them. The avalanche, it turns out, is controlled and has dwindled into mist long before it reaches his brood, but Tomas has already scarpered. He returns to them ready to defend his version of himself by refusing to admit that he left them. His family are disgusted with him, not because he ran, but because he can’t accept that he did. | Östlund’s films are nasty, funny dramas that deal in skewed self-image and challenge our presumptions that we’re rational and civilised. His latest, Force Majeure, is about Tomas, a father of two on a skiing holiday who abandons his family when he thinks an avalanche is about to engulf them. The avalanche, it turns out, is controlled and has dwindled into mist long before it reaches his brood, but Tomas has already scarpered. He returns to them ready to defend his version of himself by refusing to admit that he left them. His family are disgusted with him, not because he ran, but because he can’t accept that he did. |
| “One of the most painful things that can happen to a human being is to lose their identity,” Östlund told me. “For men, losing our identity is very connected with being a coward. That’s what annoys me when women think Tomas is an arsehole. Because they’re as much victims of gender expectation as anyone else. In our society there’s a slight feeling of shame about being a man. Trying to deal with [our] basic behaviour and put it into culture today.” | “One of the most painful things that can happen to a human being is to lose their identity,” Östlund told me. “For men, losing our identity is very connected with being a coward. That’s what annoys me when women think Tomas is an arsehole. Because they’re as much victims of gender expectation as anyone else. In our society there’s a slight feeling of shame about being a man. Trying to deal with [our] basic behaviour and put it into culture today.” |
| There is, says the director, a pressure on men to be heroic. But it’s a learned behaviour, not an instinct. Tomas – upper middle-class, white, straight – lives a safe and comfortable life. He’s never been in danger, so he doesn’t know how he’ll react when faced with disaster. Culture has taught him how he should act, however, and he can’t handle it when he doesn’t match up. | There is, says the director, a pressure on men to be heroic. But it’s a learned behaviour, not an instinct. Tomas – upper middle-class, white, straight – lives a safe and comfortable life. He’s never been in danger, so he doesn’t know how he’ll react when faced with disaster. Culture has taught him how he should act, however, and he can’t handle it when he doesn’t match up. |
| “The most reproduced character in Hollywood is the man as the hero,” says Östlund. “From an ideological perspective, if we hadn’t reproduced that main character it would be impossible to send young men into war. Men are made to feel like they should stand up and protect someone. We should sacrifice ourselves for a bigger meaning.” | “The most reproduced character in Hollywood is the man as the hero,” says Östlund. “From an ideological perspective, if we hadn’t reproduced that main character it would be impossible to send young men into war. Men are made to feel like they should stand up and protect someone. We should sacrifice ourselves for a bigger meaning.” |
| Related: Force Majeure review – a disaster movie without a disaster | Peter Bradshaw’s film of the week | |
| After the avalanche, Tomas’s wife Ebba is furious. She wants him to admit to his cowardice. Tomas continues to deny any wrongdoing, even when smartphone footage of the incident shows him up. Men who fail to be brave often dig themselves deeper after the event, says Östlund. He cites the example of Francesco Schettino, the captain of the Costa Concordia, a cruise ship that ran aground and sank in January 2012, leaving 32 drowned. Schettino, who is appealing a 16-year jail sentence, left the ship hours before many of his passengers, defying maritime tradition and societal expectation. During his trial he claimed he abandoned ship accidentally. | After the avalanche, Tomas’s wife Ebba is furious. She wants him to admit to his cowardice. Tomas continues to deny any wrongdoing, even when smartphone footage of the incident shows him up. Men who fail to be brave often dig themselves deeper after the event, says Östlund. He cites the example of Francesco Schettino, the captain of the Costa Concordia, a cruise ship that ran aground and sank in January 2012, leaving 32 drowned. Schettino, who is appealing a 16-year jail sentence, left the ship hours before many of his passengers, defying maritime tradition and societal expectation. During his trial he claimed he abandoned ship accidentally. |
| “We’re silly when we’re trying to avoid losing face,” says Östlund. “The captain of the Concordia claimed to fall into a lifeboat. We know that you didn’t! Please don’t put yourself in an even worse situation!” | “We’re silly when we’re trying to avoid losing face,” says Östlund. “The captain of the Concordia claimed to fall into a lifeboat. We know that you didn’t! Please don’t put yourself in an even worse situation!” |
| The problem, he says, is that we’ve let our culture build a value system based on unrealistic expectations. We’re bombarded with superhero stories about characters who are instinctively selfless and brave. When life descends into chaos we assume we’ll be heroic, but there’s a high chance we’d all be as cowardly as Tomas. It’s when we resist dealing with the nastier elements of being human that the trouble starts, says Östlund. Sometimes our behaviour will be base, unappealing and inscrutable. It’s healthier to accept that as part of what we are. | The problem, he says, is that we’ve let our culture build a value system based on unrealistic expectations. We’re bombarded with superhero stories about characters who are instinctively selfless and brave. When life descends into chaos we assume we’ll be heroic, but there’s a high chance we’d all be as cowardly as Tomas. It’s when we resist dealing with the nastier elements of being human that the trouble starts, says Östlund. Sometimes our behaviour will be base, unappealing and inscrutable. It’s healthier to accept that as part of what we are. |
| Östlund read recently about the parents of a group of revenge porn victims in the US who were insomniac, terrified that their daughters would hurt themselves because of the shame. | Östlund read recently about the parents of a group of revenge porn victims in the US who were insomniac, terrified that their daughters would hurt themselves because of the shame. |
| “They were saying to the girls: ‘Never take any nude pictures of yourself,’” he says. “Instead they should teach everybody: ‘Don’t put up a picture of somebody on the internet without asking.’ They were putting more shame on sexuality and nudity. | “They were saying to the girls: ‘Never take any nude pictures of yourself,’” he says. “Instead they should teach everybody: ‘Don’t put up a picture of somebody on the internet without asking.’ They were putting more shame on sexuality and nudity. |
| “Nudity is still connected – for girls – with economics. So if you are exposing yourself you are also not being careful with your resources. You should use your sexuality on a man who can guarantee a better lifestyle. We think we’re equal, but it’s so embedded in our culture.” | “Nudity is still connected – for girls – with economics. So if you are exposing yourself you are also not being careful with your resources. You should use your sexuality on a man who can guarantee a better lifestyle. We think we’re equal, but it’s so embedded in our culture.” |
| Östlund’s solution echoes that of Emma Holten, a Danish activist who responded to nude photos leaked by an ex-boyfriend by having her own set taken and sharing them freely across the web. | Östlund’s solution echoes that of Emma Holten, a Danish activist who responded to nude photos leaked by an ex-boyfriend by having her own set taken and sharing them freely across the web. |
| “Every five years we should all put up a new nude picture of ourselves on the internet,” he says. “Then there would be no problem.” | “Every five years we should all put up a new nude picture of ourselves on the internet,” he says. “Then there would be no problem.” |
| Östlund got his start filming extreme sports skiing, where the shots are wide and edits minimal (cuts suggest you have something to hide). He has carried this technique into his feature films. In Play, released in 2011, five black teenagers who have tormented three younger kids (two white, one east Asian) with a series of bullying mind games are confronted by one of the victim’s fathers in a crowded public square. The camera zooms in slowly on the scene as the dad berates them, but the wide shot has already made it clear that the onlookers are siding with the kids. We see the whole picture. To the bystanders it just looks like an older, white man shouting at black children. | Östlund got his start filming extreme sports skiing, where the shots are wide and edits minimal (cuts suggest you have something to hide). He has carried this technique into his feature films. In Play, released in 2011, five black teenagers who have tormented three younger kids (two white, one east Asian) with a series of bullying mind games are confronted by one of the victim’s fathers in a crowded public square. The camera zooms in slowly on the scene as the dad berates them, but the wide shot has already made it clear that the onlookers are siding with the kids. We see the whole picture. To the bystanders it just looks like an older, white man shouting at black children. |
| Play caused controversy when it was released. It was based on a news story, but sections of the Swedish leftwing press attacked Östlund for showing African immigrants as sadists and criminals. French audiences generally hated the film (“The French have a romantic view of humanity,” says Östlund), which showed the white middle-class paralysed by a fear of appearing racist. The black kids get away with their bad behaviour because no one calls them on it. | Play caused controversy when it was released. It was based on a news story, but sections of the Swedish leftwing press attacked Östlund for showing African immigrants as sadists and criminals. French audiences generally hated the film (“The French have a romantic view of humanity,” says Östlund), which showed the white middle-class paralysed by a fear of appearing racist. The black kids get away with their bad behaviour because no one calls them on it. |
| Östlund has experienced this cultural timidity firsthand. His 2010 short, Incident by a Bank, is a reconstruction of a bank robbery that he witnessed with a friend. In the film, two men hold up two banks in quick succession. The actors playing Östlund and his friend stand back and film the action. | Östlund has experienced this cultural timidity firsthand. His 2010 short, Incident by a Bank, is a reconstruction of a bank robbery that he witnessed with a friend. In the film, two men hold up two banks in quick succession. The actors playing Östlund and his friend stand back and film the action. |
| “We saw something suddenly where our only reference was the movies,” says Östlund. “When we saw it in reality it looked surreal. It didn’t fit our expectations. That made me very aware of how moving images have changed the way I see life and the way I behave.” | “We saw something suddenly where our only reference was the movies,” says Östlund. “When we saw it in reality it looked surreal. It didn’t fit our expectations. That made me very aware of how moving images have changed the way I see life and the way I behave.” |
| In the film, people walk by oblivious or stop and gawp. The closest thing to heroism is an elderly man’s attempt to foil the robbers’ escape. He tries to take their scooter away, but he drops it on the pavement, where it idles until the robbers run out and pick it up again. This is real-life heroism: well-meaning, often foolhardy, pretty frail. | In the film, people walk by oblivious or stop and gawp. The closest thing to heroism is an elderly man’s attempt to foil the robbers’ escape. He tries to take their scooter away, but he drops it on the pavement, where it idles until the robbers run out and pick it up again. This is real-life heroism: well-meaning, often foolhardy, pretty frail. |
| We don’t need to be heroes, but our reluctance to engage has to be overcome, Östlund says. We’re terrified of stepping up when something’s wrong. We’d rather ignore the problem or wait for someone else to show us how to react. One of the common responses to a crisis situation is paralysis. In the face of uncertainty, sometimes inaction instinctively feels right. | We don’t need to be heroes, but our reluctance to engage has to be overcome, Östlund says. We’re terrified of stepping up when something’s wrong. We’d rather ignore the problem or wait for someone else to show us how to react. One of the common responses to a crisis situation is paralysis. In the face of uncertainty, sometimes inaction instinctively feels right. |
| “They’re talking about a new law in Sweden where if you see something happening in the street and you don’t react you can be punished,” says Östlund. “That’s typical of our time. We judge the individual, when we should be teaching practical ways to behave.” | “They’re talking about a new law in Sweden where if you see something happening in the street and you don’t react you can be punished,” says Östlund. “That’s typical of our time. We judge the individual, when we should be teaching practical ways to behave.” |
| • Force Majeure is released in the UK on 10 April. | • Force Majeure is released in the UK on 10 April. |