Social observation in miniature: Ruben Östlund’s short films as a model for his feature films

ABSTRACT

This article focuses on Ruben Östlund’s two short films Autobiographical Scene Number 6882 (2005) and Incident by a Bank (2010) and argues that they align intimately with his feature films. This argument has two parts: First, Östlund’s short films have a distinct authorial signature that depends on his portrayal of social interaction that develops in awkward ways, the ‘durative’ long shot and the films’ ironic tone. This signature is visible in his short films as well as in his feature films. In other words, his short films are like his feature films, only in a miniature format. Second (and more surprising), he has not only used his short films to develop the signature of his feature films in terms of motifs and visual style, but also kept the short film storytelling format as an integral and structuring principle of his feature films. This is most salient in his reliance on stand-alone qualities of single but lengthy scenes that may or may not connect in terms of action and causality such as the avalanche scene in Force Majeure and the monkey performance in The Square, but also throughout Involuntary and Triangle of Sadness.

KEYWORDS:

• Ruben Östlund
• short film
• Scandinavian cinema
• narration
• social psychology
• art film

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1. Östlund also uses this technique – a character moving outside the fixed frame of a lengthy singular shot to jump into the water – in Natbad (2006), a small educational film on the dangers of bathing.

2. Curiously, all three authors leave out intervals in between short shorts and longer shorts without further explanation.

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Notes on contributors

Birger Langkjær

Birger Langkjær is Associate Professor in Film Studies at Dept. of Communication at University of Copenhagen. His main research is in cognitive film theory, sound and music in film and television series, realism in Danish cinema as well as experimental studies in film editing, sound and audience engagement. He has published three books as well as articles and chapters in numerous journals and edited volumes.