Involuntary (film)

Involuntary (Swedish: De ofrivilliga) is a 2008 Swedish film directed by Ruben Östlund described as "a tragic comedy or comic tragedy." It 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 byRuben Östlund
Produced byErik Hemmendorff
Written byRuben Östlund
Erik Hemmendorff
StarringMaria Lundqvist
Leif Edlund
Olle Lijas
CinematographyMarius Dybwad Brandrud
Edited byRuben Östlund
Distributed byAB Svensk Filmindustri
Release date
  • 19 May 2008 (2008-05-19) (Cannes)
  • 28 November 2008 (2008-11-28) (Sweden)
Running time
98 minutes
CountrySweden
LanguageSwedish

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. It was also selected as Sweden's submission for Best Foreign Language Film at the 82nd Academy Awards.[3]

Production

The 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

The film premiered on 19 May 2008 at the Cannes Film Festival in the section Un certain regard.[7]

Critical reception

The 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]

Awards and honours
AwardCategoryNameOutcome
Brussels European Film Festival[11]Golden IrisRuben ÖstlundWon
Geneva Cinéma Tout Ecran[12]Best DirectorRuben ÖstlundWon
Guldbagge Awards[13]Best FilmErik HemmendorffNominated
Best DirectorRuben ÖstlundNominated
Best ScreenplayRuben Östlund and Erik HemmendorffNominated
Best Supporting ActressCecilia MiloccoNominated
Best CinematographyMarius Dybwad BrandrudNominated
Mar del Plata Film Festival[14]Golden AstorRuben ÖstlundNominated
Special Jury AwardRuben ÖstlundWon
Miami International Film Festival[15]FIPRESCI AwardWon
Milan Film Festival[16]Special MentionRuben ÖstlundWon
Palm Springs International Film Festival[17]FIPRESCI Award for Best Foreign Language FilmWon
Stockholm International Film Festival[18]Audience AwardRuben ÖstlundWon
Best ScreenplayRuben Östlund and Erik HemmendorffWon

References
  1. Involuntary at the Swedish Film Institute. Retrieved 2009-07-14.
  2. Carlberg, Ingrid (2009-01-18). "Folkfilmaren Ruben Östlund Archived 2009-01-22 at the Wayback Machine" (in Swedish). Dagens Nyheter. Retrieved 2009-02-15.
  3. Rehlin, Gunnar (2009-09-15). "Swedes send 'Involuntary' to Oscars". Variety. Retrieved 2009-09-16.
  4. Pham, Annika (2008-10-30). "Interview with Ruben Östlund". Cineuropa.org. Retrieved 2009-07-13.
  5. Pallas, Hynek (2007-01-05) "Sökandet efter rätt ögonblick" (in Swedish). Svenska Dagbladet. Retrieved on 2009-02-15.
  6. Holmberg, Jonas. "Den nya våren Archived 2011-07-23 at the Wayback Machine" (PDF) (in Swedish). FLM. Autumn 2008. Retrieved 2009-02-15.
  7. Page on Festival-cannes.com
  8. "De ofrivilliga" (in Swedish). Kritiker.se. Retrieved 2009-07-14.
  9. "Top films 2008 Archived 2008-12-28 at the Wayback Machine" (in Swedish). Kritiker.se. Retrieved 2009-07-14.
  10. Andersson, Jan-Olov. (2008-11-28) "Roy Andersson i light-version" (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. Retrieved 2009-02-15.
  11. AWARDS 2008 at fffb.be (PDF)
  12. Palmarès de la 14e édition Cinéma Tous Ecrans
  13. "2008 års Guldbaggenomineringar" (in Swedish). Swedish Film Institute.
  14. Awards at Mardelplatafilmfest.com (DOC)
  15. "And the winner is... ." Miami International Film Festival
  16. 2008 Premi at Milanofilmfestival.it Archived 2009-01-01 at the Wayback Machine
  17. McDonald, Kathy A. (2010-01-17). "Palm Springs fest hands out prizes". Variety. Retrieved 2010-01-18.
  18. Vinnare 2008 at Stockholmfilmfestival.se Archived 2008-12-07 at the Wayback Machine
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