The director Ruben Östlund calls the “master of suspense”
There’s only one director in the world of cinema who is otherwise known as ‘The Master of Suspense’, with Alfred Hitchcock having held this title for generations thanks to his effortlessly gripping thrillers like Vertigo and Psycho. Yet, every era comes to an end, and for the contemporary cinematic jester Ruben Östlund, there is another filmmaker who better fulfils this brief.
Östlund has risen to recent cinematic superiority after years of relative obscurity in the Swedish independent film industry, creating highly consumable comedic oddities like 2004’s Gitarrmongot and 2008’s Involuntary. Despite releasing arguably his greatest film in 2011’s Play, it would be until the release of Force Majeure three years later that he would gain the proper attention of movie fans and critics.
Ever since the domestic drama set on the violent avalanche-prone slopes of the French Alps, Östlund has won back-to-back Palme d’Or trophies at the Cannes Film Festival, winning first for The Square in 2017. Ever since this lampoon of the art world, he has become known for his satirical edge with his follow-up Triangle of Sadness, which attacked the social class system utilising a similar energy with the same prize-winning results.
With a background in making skiing videos, Östlund admits that he doesn’t have the typical cinematic education as his peers, yet this doesn’t mean that no other filmmakers inspire him.
Speaking to A-Frame, the director listed five movies that inspire his filmmaking craft, asserting that he finds the work of French director Michael Haneke utterly mesmerising. Specifically addressing his 2000 film Code Unknown, which tells the story of various interconnecting storylines, each revolving around protest, Östlund states, “Michael Haneke, I love because of the suspense in his movies. Even though he doesn’t have a traditional dramaturgy or narrative, there’s always such a suspense.”
Continuing, he adds: “As an audience, when I’m watching it, I’m on my toes all the time. You say that Hitchcock is the master of suspense, but for me, Michael Haneke is the master of suspense. And you can tell that he has such a great overview of everything that is going on in the film and in every single scene, so you pay attention to whatever is happening.”
Winning the Palme d’Or at Cannes on two occasions himself, Haneke is recognised as one of French cinema’s greatest minds, winning the grand prize at the film festival for 2009’s The White Ribbon and 2012’s Amour. On several other occasions, Haneke has drawn great respect for his approach to suspense filmmaking, crafting such enigmatic gems as 1997’s Funny Games and 2005’s Caché.
Östlund is no stranger to such intense filmmaking, with the Swedish director instilling his own dialogue with a natural snappiness that has made him so utterly revered in modern cinema – there’s no wonder he adores Haneke.
