Involuntary (2008)

A Disappointing Continuation

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

For the last few months i've stumbled upon quite a few Swedish movies, and for me, personally, it's a grand discovery! I love and appreciate low budget movies. For me, producing more with less always seemed an outcome of cinematic expertise. That kind of Minimalism makes this movie great. The themes and situations displayed in this movie are so relatable, and i bet you'll find your self giggling (for a wide Spectrum of reasons: from sympathy to embarrassment). It's light and have a natural flow, the acting is very authentic and sensitive. The script is superb, and the camerawork also contributes to the "Ostlund experience", together forming an honourable picture.

Ruben Östlund must be one of the most self important directors working in Sweden today. He is angry on Hollywood for making films people are entertained by. He wonders why his film don't speak to as many people as films about cowboys and aliens when his films are about everyday life. The answer is quite simple. Most people goes to the cinema to be entertained and Ruben Östlund's film douse not entertain. Entertainment can be achieved by many emotions, happiness, horror, sadness, thrills, chills and joy. The one emotion a director is never allowed to evoke in his audience is boredom. To bore an audience is the worst crime an entertainer can commit and Östlund commits this crime.The scenes in this film is made up mostly of single shots showing scenes in the life of a teacher, two teenyboppers, an old man, a group of drunks and a bus party. All of them fall victim to the mechanisms of the group. This would have been interesting concept but Ruben Östlund's own pretentious ideas comes in the way. Like his moronic camera angels.The camera angels are often filming really strange stuff like peoples feet or a car door. I hate to be the first to bring this up to you Östlund, but you are not Roy Andersson.The psychology of a group is an interesting subject, but you can't make a movie with just that. You need context. Come up with a story to use as backdrop to your theme. The first two X-Men movies did a great job with this.There is no plot nor character development. A film can make up for this in by brining up other stuff, like an interesting story but this is not the case of this film. Ruben Östlund summarizes the worst kind of filmmakers alive; those who don't care for their audience. Others like him are Micheal Bay, Uwe Boll and Kristian Petri to name a few.Avoid this guy, because he deserves not attention,

I recently saw this at the 2010 Palm Springs International Film Festival. After 25 years the effects of the radiation fallout from Chernobl that drifted over Sweden are now evident as it must have affected the minds of the committee who selected this drivel as Sweden's official submission to the Academy Awards as Best Foreign Film. The chances of this being one of the five nominations are slim to none. This film deals with five different stories that have nothing to do with the other except that they all take place in Sweden and all deal with alcohol to some degree. There is a man who accidentally gets hit in the head by a bottle rocket, two school girls who get drunk, an actress on a bus trip, a teacher whom none of her peers at the school really care for and a group of young straight men who enjoy homo-erotic behavior. The film is shot from unusual camera angels that give the viewer a sense of eavesdropping in on ordinary mundane conversations. After about five minutes, this technique gets pretty old and after about 10 minutes it becomes evident that the stories are going nowhere and people start walking out of the theater. Lessons learned from the film include; if you hit yourself in the eye with fireworks you should not self-treat it but see a doctor immediately and don't be shooting off fireworks under the influence of alcohol, if you are a teenager don't get drunk and pass out, if you break something it's best to confess, if you don't seem to fit in then learn to have an interest in your co-workers or maybe look for another job and pretending to be gay is not emotionally healthy. I would give this embarrassment to the Swedish film industry a very generous 3.5 out of 10, as low as I personally go on reviews, and recommend it to no one.

"De Ofrivilliga" presents a new take on movie-making I personally haven't seen before. Östlund basically uses nothing but still cameras that show the entirety of the scene from a distance or an angle that surprises you, never zooming in on the actors facial expressions. The theme is admittedly rather hard to explain; it handles the awkwardness that follow those defining moments where a small decision leads to growing consequences. It's an hilarious movie, dark and hopeful at the same time. You can tell Östlund has sharpened his pen since his previous feature movie, "Gitarrmongot". The dialogue balances so delicately on the thin line of becoming ridiculous or indifferent without ever falling over to either side. "De Ofrivlliga" craves your attention in order to mesmerize you the way it's meant to, and you will be required to give it. If you've ever seen and appreciated any of Roy Andersson's movies you'll love it.