Before he won two Palmes d’Or for The Square and Triangle of Sadness, Ruben Östlund sparked fervor at Cannes with this earth-shattering marital drama. Provocative, insightful and at times excruciating, Force Majeure is a frequently hilarious look at the fragile masculinity of a family man.
Olivier Assayas directed Kristen Stewart to a history-making César Award win in Clouds of Sils Maria, but it’s La Binoche who really steals the show: on career-best form as the fading star at the slippery center of this Bergmanesque tale of dualities, mirror reflections, and brooding power dynamics.
Not all festival-hip indie films are shaggy dog stories. This Cannes-selected feature debut—produced by directors Sean Durkin (Martha Marcy May Marlene) and Antonio Campos (Simon Killer)—belongs to a group of filmmakers thankfully crafting indie cinema in European arthouse traditions.