May 18, 2026 10:26am PT

‘Fjord’ Review: The Family That Prays Together is Torn Asunder in Cristian Mungiu’s Brilliantly Knotted Social Drama, Led by Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve

Both stars daringly expand their range and empathetic capacity in this ambitiously ambiguous, unsettling study of a Romanian Evangelical family in Norway, clouded by a child abuse investigation.

Guy Lodge

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Guy Lodge

Film Critic

@guylodge

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Cannes Film Festival

An actual avalanche happens in the background of an early scene in “Fjord,” as snow gathers and masses and tumbles down a hill behind the school in a small, close-knit Norwegian village, eventually stalling before it becomes any kind of disaster. Later in the film, another happens in the same spot, this time breaking closer to the schoolhouse in a misty white burst, but no one is fazed: Protocol is followed, everyone heads inside, and the day proceeds as planned. Nature is no big deal in Cristian Mungiu‘s superb new drama of systemic order and individual disarray, which takes in the sprawling waters and monochrome mountainscapes of the region with a placidly appreciative eye. It’s human nature, concentrated and scrutinized and made ugly amid this splendor, that causes all the alarm.

'Fjord' Review: The Family That Prays Together is Torn Asunder in Cristian Mungiu's Brilliantly Knotted Social Drama, Led by Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve