On Monday night, the Cannes Film Festival switched screenings of “Fjord.” Director Christian Mungiu’s heart-breaking family law story starring Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve brings searing drama to the Grand Palais.
A Romanian family with strict religious beliefs moves to a quiet village in Norway. When her children are separated from her for suspected abuse, she witnesses how clashing social norms escalate into a living nightmare. The premiere audience gasped and snorted in disbelief as Stan and Reinsbe suffered the humiliation of a state that went too far in removing teens, teens, and young children from loving care.
“I want to thank everyone here for trusting me,” Mungiu said in French and then in English, saying Cannes was the ultimate indicator of whether his films would stand the test of time.
“Fjord” follows the Gheorghiu family, consisting of a Romanian father (Stan) and a Norwegian mother (Rheinsve), as they start a new life in the remote village of Norway, where the mother was born. They quickly form a bond with the Halberg family, who live next door near the bay, and despite their very different upbringings, the children from both families quickly become close friends. When the Georgiou family is suspected of disturbing behavior, they become the focus of surveillance in a small town, and their lives are thrown into turmoil.
Mungiu won Cannes’ highest honor, the Palme d’Or, for “4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days” in 2007, followed by the film festival’s Best Screenplay Award for “Beyond the Hills” in 2012, and the Best Director Award for “The Graduate” in 2016. The 2022 drama “RMN” was also submitted to Cannes competition. Mungiu’s cast is also made up of Cannes veterans, with Stan appearing in the Donald Trump film The Apprentice and Reinsuv winning Best Actress for The Worst Man in the World. Reinsve came to Cannes last year with “Sentimental Value,” which won the Grand Prix.
“Fjord” was picked up by Neon a year before its Cannes debut. The distribution company has become synonymous with dominating Cannes, with films such as “Parasite,” “Titan,” “Triangle of Sorrow,” “Anatomy of Fall,” “Anora,” and “It Was an Accident” winning the Palme d’Or every year since 2019. Neon has several other Cannes premieres scheduled this year, including “Hope” and “Paper Tiger.”
