On a skiing holiday in the French Alps, a seemingly perfect Swedish family, complete with matching ski outfits and upper-class aloofness, gather for lunch at a mountainside restaurant. An avalanche that is supposedly controlled quickly becomes otherwise, and the personal priorities, indicated by the split-second decisions of the adults, rapidly draw into sharp focus the reality behind the façade.

With both this and Gone Girl (and, to a lesser extent, Winter Sleep – also on our Semester One programme), 2014 was a great year for movies exposing the secrets behind the marriage tradition. As much as Gone Girl was my favourite movie last year (with its multi-levels), this one actually delves into the psychology more deeply. Male-female dynamics within stereotyped roles, perception of truth, instinct vs. empathy, and self-justification are just some of the themes that are covered in the aftermath of the central incident.

But please don’t take away the impression that this is a serious film, as it is actually one of the funniest I saw last year. The shallow nature of so many of the characters and the self-righteousness of others combine to create many scenes that are gut-bustingly funny (or squirm-inducing maybe, depending on your point of view – we all can be shallow and self-righteous in our low moments). This was Sweden’s official entry for the Best Foreign Language Oscar, but was unfortunately snubbed from the final five. Make sure you don’t make the same mistake and miss it.