The enemy is the sky. They are afraid on planes. These are very embarrassing concerns. What to do? It is curable. At least if we are to believe the brochure of “Intrepid Travelers” which promises to cure this phobia thanks to an intensive course. They are three to participate in the adventure. There is a former Special Forces turned author of best-selling detective novels. There is an app creator, accompanied by his influencer girlfriend. There is especially Sarah, a businesswoman, who accepted the challenge the day before her departure on vacation with her new companion (destination Cape Verde, where there is no risk of going on foot). Here they are embarked on a repair flight to Iceland supposed to cure their anguish. It must be said quickly.
In Zone(s) de turbulence, trouble begins as soon as you board at Gatwick. The instructor is not the one who was expected. This Charles is adorable, of course, but he is obviously not up to it. In the cabin, the fear is palpable. Air pockets occur. This causes cries and cold sweats. Healing is at this price. The madwoman of social networks films herself non-stop. Her booby fiancé cheers himself up with whiskey (other beverages are not prohibited). The writer is supposed to have seen others in the Falklands. That didn’t stop him from panicking. The nice organizer is not the last to be overtaken by events. The travelers are not at the end of their sentences.
On arrival, they are told that their return is delayed without further details. Engine problem, they eventually learn. Nine hours to wait minimum. Sarah is very annoyed. And his stay in West Africa, then? They all want to go home. At the counter, the employee of the company wipes a broadside of insults. The guide freaks out. They are offered to wait in a luxury hotel a few kilometers away. The situation there is getting worse. The establishment is lost in the snow, in the middle of nowhere. Cell phones don’t pick up. How to leave this sophisticated place?
The gourdflot continues to get drunk. His girlfriend begins to find it heavy. A billionaire occupies the next room. A steward with a mustache could play Saint Bernard. The sauna allows impromptu meetings. At least the influencer will have things to tell. Sarah summons a taxi on the sly, finds herself after a spin, running in her underwear in the blizzard.
Nervous breakdowns and screams punctuate this comedy shot with fingers in the grip and which is not without evoking a mixture of Snow Therapy by Ruben Östlund and New Savages by Damian Szifron. The varnish cracks. Absurdity reigns. The change of scenery is guaranteed. Timothy Spall plays with a rubber band to relax, discovers the virtues of the wheelchair.
For his first production in English, Icelandic Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurdsson (Under the Tree) chooses grating laughter, adopts superior pessimism, watches bits of civilization gently crumble away in a glacial setting. That, the passengers will remember. The spectators too, who will be delighted to have been taken on this journey full of the unexpected. The way to fasten your belt in your movie theater seat? The only risks of turbulence will be due to contagious hilarity. Ready to take off? One certainty, however: the film will not be screened on any long-haul.