By Dan Skip Allen

“Fjord” is directed by Cristian Munjiu. It premiered at the past May’s Festival De Cannes and won the Palme D’ore. Adding another phenomenal film to NEON’s tally of six consecutive winners. That’s a lot to live up to, and Munju has made a film that has a lot to say even though it’s a foreign film.  Some of the topics are relatable to a lot of people in this country as well as other countries. It’s all about the translation of the story and how it’s depicted. That is why this is one of the best films of the year and also why it will be a big player at next year’s Academy Awards. 

Mihai and Lisbet Ghoreghuiu (Sebastian Stan, Renate Reinsve) are the parents of four kids, two teens, and two younger children. They are a very religious Romanian- Norwegian family who moved to a remote fjord village in Norway. These people in the village are very different from them. They moved there mainly for the good jobs they got and the good school the kids get to go to. Their beliefs are soon threatened as their daughter goes to school with bruises on her neck and back, which are noticed by a school official. She notifies the Norwegian Child Protective Services of what she has seen. This escalates into the children being taken away from this family until an investigation into what happened is concluded. Which results in a trial to defend themselves. 

This family is a devoutly Christian family, and they have rules that the kids have to follow. No phones, for instance, are one of those rules. Some of the school employees and students don’t like the kids being taught a different set of values that conflict with the educational styles they’re used to. And that the parents of the kids use minor physical punishment if needed to discipline the kids. This accentuates the problem with the bruises on the daughter. Is this school employee doing this out of spite? That’s a question the film tries to answer in a smart and thought-provoking way. The script is really strong here because of all the legal jargon that is said throughout the film. Also, there is a translation barrier Americans may have an issue with. Multiple languages are used fluently in this movie. I’ve always believed there should be a separation between church and state. Even if it’s in another country.

I’ve talked about this a few times, but with this movie, it bears bringing up again. I grew up with an abusive alcoholic father. Me and my mother were both beaten at times. So, I have a strong belief system when it comes to abuse of children. That being said, if kids are acting out, they should be punished. Whether it’s the belt or spankings, I don’t think there is anything wrong with that. In this case, there was more of a bias towards these people because of their religious beliefs. I think that’s why this entire thing happened. These kids weren’t hurt by their father or mother on purpose. They were hurt in gym class. I’ll stand by that assessment based on what I watched.

The two big stars in this film are Stan and Reinave. This is the second time they’ve worked opposite one another. The first was “A Different Man” in 2024. They had good chemistry there, but here, even though they are husband and wife, they seem a lot more distant towards each other. It’s probably the characters they play and the situation they find themselves in that makes them seem cold towards one another. I love both of these actors, and their careers have taken off in recent years. This was a hard movie for me to watch even though they were in it. Usually, I’m fine with difficult movies regarding the subject matter, but this one was harder than normal for me to get into. It’s an interesting film because of the foreign film aspect of the story. I have a strong feeling about people butting in where they are not wanted, and this film shows that. Stan and Reinave are doing good work despite the subject matter being difficult, and the movie is very uncomfortable to watch.

Another topic this film tackles is religion in schools and I’m a proponent of no religion in schools but I felt like this was an isolated community and if certain kids want to pray at lunch or opening bell in home room I don’t think there is a problem with that. Mostly, though, these people are involved with their religion in their own home on the weekends. I feel that as long as it’s not illegal, you should be able to do what you want on the weekends or in your own home. That’s the case here. People were praising God on their own time. I found nothing wrong with that at all. The writer/director handles this part of the story perfectly as far as I was concerned. I’m not a religious guy either.

“Fjord” isn’t going to be for everybody. It’s a foreign film with multiple languages spoken and subtitles. It is not short either. The subject matters it tackles aren’t light. Munjiu does a great job of delving into the topics at hand. I learned a lot about foreign countries and how they deal with abuse towards children but also how biases can get in the way of one’s judgment and decision making. This movie was an eye-opener for me. Both Stan and Reinave do good work here. Not great work, but solid work for them. I’ve seen them both do better work in the past. The film deals with a lot of heavy material and it was hard for me to watch but I was glad I did because I learned from watching it. That’s what movies are for sometimes. Maybe others will watch it and get a better understanding of the subject matter. I don’t have kids, and I’m not religious, so it may have gotten lost in translation for me a bit.

🌟 🌟 🌟 stars