Off Track

Movie review by Barbara Shulgasser-Parker, Common Sense Media
Off Track Movie

Common Sense says

age 14+

Siblings train for a life-changing race; language, sex.

NR 2022 108 minutes
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A Lot or a Little?

The parents' guide to what's in this movie.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Off Track is a Swedish family drama with comic accents about several troubled people training for and competing in a grueling cross-country ski race. The results help them reach insights and, in some cases, remake their lives. Adults kiss. It's suggested they have sex. A couple is trying to get pregnant with the help of infertility treatments. A man interrupts his ski training to masturbate outdoors to provide sperm for his wife's in-vitro fertilization. Skiers crash into each other. A woman seems to have a heart attack while skiing. It's clear that a skier pooped in her pants. Language includes "f--k," "s--t," "ass," "damn," "hell," "balls," "pee," "suck," "bitch," "climax," "sperm," and "cop a feel." A character has an alcohol addiction and seems to overcome her addiction with little effort. Cigarette smoking is mentioned.

What's the Story?

In OFF TRACK, Daniel (Fredrik Hallgren) and Klara (Rakel Warmlander), a couple in their 40s, struggle with infertility. She's desperate for a baby, while he's less invested. Fertility treatments have been a strain, and he diverts his attention from her distress by obsessively training for the Vasaloppet, a 90-kilometer, grueling cross-country ski marathon. His sister, Lisa (Katia Winter), is addicted to alcohol and spiraling out of control, landing in jail after a night of partying. This puts custody of her child in jeopardy and inflames her already fed-up ex, who is remarried and starting a new family. Unemployed and depressed, Lisa unapologetically moves in with brother Daniel, into his pristine home. When Daniel gets Lisa to train for the punishing race, events come to a head. Will Lisa give up as soon as she encounters adversity? Will Daniel and Klara stay together? Can either of them find happiness?

Is It Any Good?

Off Track is tepidly entertaining, but it's a bumpy ride before some emotionally satisfying moments pay off in the end. Integrating Daniel's remoteness and the troubles in his marriage, Lisa's alcohol addiction and defeatism, midlife crises and brief romantic flings, and the grit of an older skier who wants to prove she has one more race in her, it creates a puzzle that the director doesn't always solve with grace and comprehensibility, but he gives it a good try. With so much narrative conflict to cover, for much of the movie the director leaves the audience wondering what this is actually about. It's confusing when a social worker investigating a mother who's addicted to alcohol ends the inquiry just because of a ski race. In the end, it seems, the message is that sticking to a plan can be a good start when facing any challenges in life.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how it might feel to be the daughter of a mother who drinks too much.

  • Lisa seems to become sober rather easily. Does this feel realistic? Why, or why not?

  • Do you think Daniel will ever be a supportive husband? Do you think the movie makes the case for his marriage surviving? Why, or why not?

Movie Details

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