ingelaallard Five independent stories which all possess an admirable wit and acuity. They all share one thing - the involved have to stand up for their own will and resist the so often overwhelming peer pressure that we all at some point has been the victim of.Ruben Östlund has created a sleek, straight and accurate film where the acting is unbeatable. We have to be alert, listen and try to keep up with the sometimes very complicated plot. The camera is rolling and it allows all the involved to take all the space. The stories has a strange sense of normalcy on the surface, and the every day situations succeeds each other with finesse, perfectly knitted together until the end without any forced resolution or final connection. It is this kind of story I feel can be associated with Sweden. This may be our future culture imprint.Ruben Östlund possesses a narration that grabs at his audience and he is not afraid to challenge. It is exciting despite unremarkable equality in the presentation, and the persons in the five stories, feel very real.

taliabo The camera angles were interestingly different. Made you think about the conversations and not focus so much on the shallowness of what I call: eye candy syndrome, which Hollywood so likes to depict. One thing that did disturb me when reading reviews was that a few of the very positive ones contained the same misspellings. That is hardly a coincidence. Back to the film: There seemed to be too many thematic subplots going on, despite other reviews that seem to say: "hey, that mirrors life". But generally, the film was entertaining and was an interesting diversion. The homo-erotic male-bonding deal with the guys seemed a bit contrived. I couldn't figure the rhyme or reason there.

John Seal The influence of Gus Van Sant at his most self-indulgent is in evidence throughout this dry as dust collection of filmed scenarios. The camera doesn't move. Shots are deliberately framed in such a way that heads are cut off. The sound is ambient. The characters are shallow and uninteresting. If there were such a thing as a Swedish Dogme manifesto, Involuntary could be an example of it. As it stands, it's merely an example of how not to make a film, unless you want to limit the audience to folks who are convinced that the lack of a story and technical ineptitude are the mark of genius. It's hard to believe this was Sweden's official entry for the Academy Awards in 2010.

Cuddleworthy "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.