Involuntary (Swedish: De ofrivilliga) is a 2008 Swedish drama film directed by Ruben Östlund, and written by Östlund and Erik Hemmendorff. It is described as "a tragic comedy or comic tragedy", and features five parallel stories with human group behaviour as the common theme.[1] The film is notable for its long takes with no cuts within the scenes. This is related to Östlund's background as a skiing film director, where a cut would only indicate failure. The longest scene lasts for seven minutes.[2]
| De ofrivilliga | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Ruben Östlund |
| Written by | Ruben Östlund Erik Hemmendorff |
| Produced by | Erik Hemmendorff |
| Starring | Maria Lundqvist Leif Edlund Olle Lijas |
| Cinematography | Marius Dybwad Brandrud |
| Edited by | Ruben Östlund |
| Distributed by | AB Svensk Filmindustri |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 98 minutes |
| Country | Sweden |
| Language | Swedish |
The film received mainly positive reviews. It has won several awards at international film festivals and was nominated for five Swedish Guldbagge Awards including Best Film, but didn't win in any category. The film was also selected as Sweden's submission for Best Foreign Language Film at the 82nd Academy Awards, but it was not nominated.[3]
Production
editThe work with the script started already in autumn 2004, when Östlund and Hemmendorff started to write down vignettes on the theme, inspired by or taken directly from their own experiences.[4]
Filming started in the summer 2006. One scene per day was shot during the production, with around 20 takes for each scene, although some scenes demanded far more.[5] The independent stories were shot one at a time, meaning that many of the actors never met before the premiere.[6]
Release
editThe film premiered on 19 May 2008 at the Cannes Film Festival in the section Un certain regard.[7]
Reception
editCritical response
editThe general reception in Swedish press was positive. As of 14 July 2009 it had an average rating of 4.3 out of 5 based on 24 reviews at the Swedish-language review site Kritiker.se, making it the highest rated Swedish film from 2008.[8][9] An exception was Jan-Olov Andersson at Aftonbladet, who rated the film 2 out of 5 and dismissed it as "Roy Andersson light."[10]
Involuntary has an approval rating of 81% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 21 reviews, and an average rating of 6.3/10.[11] Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 74 out of 100, based on 9 critics, indicating generally favorable reviews.[12]
Awards and honours
edit| Award | Category | Name | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brussels European Film Festival[13] | Golden Iris | Ruben Östlund | Won |
| Geneva Cinéma Tout Ecran[14] | Best Director | Ruben Östlund | Won |
| Guldbagge Awards[15] | Best Film | Erik Hemmendorff | Nominated |
| Best Director | Ruben Östlund | Nominated | |
| Best Screenplay | Ruben Östlund and Erik Hemmendorff | Nominated | |
| Best Supporting Actress | Cecilia Milocco | Nominated | |
| Best Cinematography | Marius Dybwad Brandrud | Nominated | |
| Mar del Plata Film Festival[16] | Golden Astor | Ruben Östlund | Nominated |
| Special Jury Award | Ruben Östlund | Won | |
| Miami International Film Festival[17] | FIPRESCI Award | Won | |
| Milan Film Festival[18] | Special Mention | Ruben Östlund | Won |
| Palm Springs International Film Festival[19] | FIPRESCI Award for Best Foreign Language Film | Won | |
| Stockholm International Film Festival[20] | Audience Award | Ruben Östlund | Won |
| Best Screenplay | Ruben Östlund and Erik Hemmendorff | Won |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Involuntary at the Swedish Film Institute. Retrieved 2009-07-14.
- ^ Carlberg, Ingrid (2009-01-18). "Folkfilmaren Ruben Östlund Archived 2009-01-22 at the Wayback Machine" (in Swedish). Dagens Nyheter. Retrieved 2009-02-15.
- ^ Rehlin, Gunnar (2009-09-15). "Swedes send 'Involuntary' to Oscars". Variety. Retrieved 2009-09-16.
- ^ Pham, Annika (2008-10-30). "Interview with Ruben Östlund". Cineuropa.org. Retrieved 2009-07-13.
- ^ Pallas, Hynek (2007-01-05) "Sökandet efter rätt ögonblick" (in Swedish). Svenska Dagbladet. Retrieved on 2009-02-15.
- ^ Holmberg, Jonas. "Den nya våren Archived 2011-07-23 at the Wayback Machine" (PDF) (in Swedish). FLM. Autumn 2008. Retrieved 2009-02-15.
- ^ Page on Festival-cannes.com
- ^ "De ofrivilliga[permanent dead link]" (in Swedish). Kritiker.se. Retrieved 2009-07-14.
- ^ "Top films 2008 Archived 2008-12-28 at the Wayback Machine" (in Swedish). Kritiker.se. Retrieved 2009-07-14.
- ^ Andersson, Jan-Olov. (2008-11-28) "Roy Andersson i light-version" (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. Retrieved 2009-02-15.
- ^ "Involuntary (2008)". Rotten Tomatoes.
- ^ "Involuntary". Metacritic.
- ^ AWARDS 2008 at fffb.be[permanent dead link] (PDF)
- ^ "Palmarès de la 14e édition Cinéma Tous Ecrans". Archived from the original on 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2009-02-03.
- ^ "2008 års Guldbaggenomineringar" (in Swedish). Swedish Film Institute.
- ^ Awards at Mardelplatafilmfest.com (DOC)
- ^ "And the winner is... [permanent dead link]." Miami International Film Festival
- ^ 2008 Premi at Milanofilmfestival.it Archived 2009-01-01 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ McDonald, Kathy A. (2010-01-17). "Palm Springs fest hands out prizes". Variety. Retrieved 2010-01-18.
- ^ Vinnare 2008 at Stockholmfilmfestival.se Archived 2008-12-07 at the Wayback Machine
