Involuntary

Ruben Östlund’s second feature dissects the Swedish mentality with surgical precision. Five unrelated stories pinpoint several painfully recognizable personality traits, such as lack of courage, not wanting to make a scene in front of others and the group’s influence over the individual. Involuntary is a tragic comedy, both amusing and frightening.

On a bus from Göteborg to Stockholm, a well-known actress is afraid to admit that she was the one who broke the drape runner in the bathroom. Leif is partying with the boys at a country house, and once the booze starts to flow, he’s willing to do almost anything to impress the crew. Teenagers Sara and Linnéa are raiding their parents’ bar to get ready for a night out on the town.

The fragmented storytelling, with black screens that clearly separate the different narratives, is enhanced by the minimalist camera work. And the use of relatively unknown actors, apart from Maria Lundqvist, who basically plays herself, only adds to Östlund’s quest for realism.

Face2Face
With Ruben Östlund, director. Moderator Caroline Hainer, journalist.Read more

Cast
Villmar Björkman, Linnea Cart-Lamy, Leif Edlund, Sara Eriksson, Lola Ewerlund, Olle Liljas, Maria Lundqvist: Producer
Erik Hemmendorff: Script
Ruben Östlund, Erik Hemmendorff: Cinematography
Marius Dybwad Brandrud: Music
Benny Andersson: Spoken language
Swedish