'Fjord' Review: Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve in Parenting Hell
Renate Reinsve and Sebastian Stan with cast in 'Fjord.'
Cannes Film Festival
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Cristian Mungiu’s films invariably deal with social, cultural and moral divisions, uneasy truths, ethical dilemmas and unjust compromises. In his latest, Fjord, the Romanian New Wave auteur brings his needling focus and unvarnished realism to a knotty drama of parenting and education, in which a suspicion of possible child abuse escalates into a full inquisition during a head-spinning rush to judgement. It’s also a nuanced reflection on otherness, and how anyone failing to conform to the values of a community invites distrust.
The community in this case are the residents of a picturesque port town on the isolated West coast of Norway, nestled among snow-capped mountains. The locals are all welcoming smiles and warm handshakes when the devoutly religious Gheorghiu family relocates there from Bucarest — including Romanian Mihai (Sebastian Stan) his Norwegian wife Lisbet (Renate Reinsve) and their five children, the oldest of them teenage Elia (Vanessa Ceban). Lisbet was born in the village and the move there was prompted by her mother’s offer to help with the kids.
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Fjord
The Bottom Line
Compellingly squirm-inducing, if far from the director’s best.
Venue: Cannes Film Festival (Competition)
Cast: Sebastian Stan, Renate Reinsve, Lisa Carlehed, Ellen Dorrit Petersen, Lisa and warn Loven Kongsli, Henrikke Lund-Olsen, Vanessa Ceban, Christian Rubeck, Markus Scarth Tonseth
Director-screenwriter: Cristian Mungiu
2 hours 26 minutes
They seem to acclimate quickly. Both parents find employment, the children settle in at school, and they become friendly with their neighbors — headmaster Mats (Markus Scarth Tonseth), his attorney wife Mia (Lisa Carlehed) and their moody, rebellious daughter Noora (Henrikke Lund-Olsen). For impulsive reasons not made entirely clear, Noora ditches her best friend at school and adopts Elia, which leads to some aggressive moves on the wrestling mat in gym class.
At their new home on a small farm, the children are expected to help with chores and housework, plus put in hours of daily Bible study. The fact that they are not allowed phones or internet or modern music or dancing is brought up later as evidence that Mihai and Lisbet are unfit parents. Instead of regular kid entertainment, they learn hymns from their father or listen to his preachy pep talks about fairness and punishment.
The latter becomes a factor when Elia and one of her brothers get into a scuffle and almost scald the baby. As a result, they are forbidden to go to Noora’s birthday party. But Noora encourages them to sneak out with her at night, taking them for a spin on her family’s boat and giving them a taste of what youthful freedom feels like.
All this is Mungiu’s sly misdirection in setting up the hardline conservative Christians as bad guys, depriving their kids of any joy. But it’s when the sanctimonious, so-called progressive Norwegians start passing judgement on the Gheorghius’ parenting methods that the villains of the piece are revealed.
At times this borders on parody, for instance when a teacher recounts an incident in a gender studies class for 7-year-olds. One classmate self-identifies as a lesbian, prompting Elia’s younger sister to inform her that her sexuality is a sin and a ticket straight to Hell.
The real trouble starts when a gym teacher notices a bruise on Elia’s neck and feels duty-bound to report it to Principal Mats as well as counsellor Frida (Lisa Loven Kongsli), who keeps a vigilant eye on the students both in the playground and on the school bus that she drives. Mats advises them just to monitor the situation, but the two women are intransigent that protocol must be followed and Child Services contacted.
They grill Elia and her brother about physical discipline at home, and after a leading question or two, the siblings confess that they get an occasional smack on the butt when they step out of line. That represents a red flag to the school staffers, who go back and forth about the difference between a smack and a slap.
Before they even know what’s happening, Mihai is taken to the police station for questioning while Lisbet is grilled at home by the quietly officious Gunda (Ellen Dorrit Petersen) and another woman from Child Services, who inform her that the children will be removed from her and her husband’s custody for the duration of the investi