A One Mann’s Movies review of “Fjord”. (From the 2026 London Film Festival). (2026, 3*, NR).
This film won the Cannes Palm D’Or award, so I had high expectations for it. Sadly, they were not fully met, despite the film having an interesting location and compelling story.
One Mann’s Movies Rating:
Plot:
An evangelical family move to a small Norwegian town. Their seemingly placid adjustment is shattered when suspicions around their children’s wellbeing place the parents under severe scrutiny.
Certification:
UK: NR; US: NR. (This film has not yet received a classification by the BBFC, but I would expect it to be a 15 based on adult themes and strong language.)
Talent:
Starring: Sebastian Stan, Renate Reinsve, Lisa Carlehed, Ellen Dorrit Petersen, Lisa Loven Kongsli, Henrikke Lund-Olsen, Vanessa Ceban, Jonathan Ciprian Breazu, Christian Rubeck, Markus Scarth Tønseth, Øyvind Venstad Kjeksrud.
Directed by: Cristian Mungiu.
Written by: Cristian Mungiu.
Running Time: 2h 26m.
Review:
Positives:
- As for Heart of the Beast and The Dog Stars, one of the stars of the show is the Norwegian scenery. The film opens with a stunning shot of the fjord with the mountain behind it, with the camera lingering there for you to fully appreciate the beauty.
- We then take in the small Norwegian town that is the centre of our drama and are introduced at a leisurely pace to the family, newly arrived from Romania, consisting of father Mihai Gheorghiu (Sebastian Stan), mother Lisbet (Renate Reinsve), teenage daughter Elia (Vanessa Ceban), teenage son Emmanuel (Jonathan Ciprian Breazu), two younger children and a baby. (Elia is clearly a fan of “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” as she had a Löded Diper poster on the wall!) The family is completed by the elderly grandparent Ake (Øyvind Venstad Kjeksrud), grieving the suicide of his wife, uncommunicative and in a wheelchair himself.
- When Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve’s names came up in the credits at the end, I went “WAIT, WHAT??!” – I never recognised either of the actors, they so well disappeared into their roles… which is much to their credit.
- The film nicely shows how the family are highly religious, part of a conservative Christian group in the town, with nurse Lisbet quietly trying to evangelise to her patients at the old-persons home where she works.
- Elia gets introduced to local girl Noora (Henrikke Lund-Olsen) who has her own set of significant mental problems (“empathy issues”): in fact, she seems to be a complete psycho. But there is a ‘thing’ clearly building between the two teenage girls.
- As the concerns get raised about the parent’s points-based punishment system, the Norwegian judicial system, different clearly from the Romanian system, swings into play and the Gheorghius find themselves swept into a parental nightmare. In this whirlwind, some interesting moralistic rules come to the fore: for example, in school the children are allowed to talk about their sexual orientation, but not about their religious beliefs. And in terms of parental disciplining, when does a ‘tap on the butt’ become a ‘slap on the butt’ to become ‘child abuse’?
- A court hearing in the final reel, which had my interest, focuses on some of the beliefs in Romania that reflect badly on the family here. The prosecution barrister (Christian Rubeck) quotes a Romanian saying that “A Beating is coming from heaven”. And Mihai is questioned about his belief in a “traditional family” which is defined in Romania as “one man and one woman”. So there is lots of interesting stuff brought up to cogitate on here.
Negatives:
- With a lot of strong positive elements, why didn’t I rate it higher? The film just didn’t fully hang together for me. The strand of the relationship between Elia and Noora is fine and the strand of the investigation and trial is interesting. But for some reason these things didn’t really mesh very well together for me. And while I was mildly engaged for much of the film, the ending didn’t satisfy me at all, drawing neither of the strands to any decent conclusion.
- A ‘walking on water’ thing is a bit bizarre and as a bit of mystical realism didn’t really fit as a standalone element in the story.
Triggers
There is a graphic element of self-harming in the film as well as a theme of suicide.
Summary Thoughts:
Interesting topic. Nice views. Good start. Screwed up the landing.
Where to watch?
Trailer:
The trailer for the film is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frg59VOungA.
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