Sebastian Stan’s controversial drama Fjord might be a big awards season surprise

After what many consider a less stellar Cannes Film Festival in May, it was Sebastian Stan’s film Fjord that walked away with the prestigious Palme d’Or.

It initially roused audiences, delivering the first double-digit standing ovation of the festival with a reported 12 minutes of applause – which was then overshadowed by La Bola Negra’s huge 20 minutes.

But it was Cristian Mungiu’s Fjord which triumphed with the top prize, and it was certainly a quieter type of film to win, although Mungiu is a previous multi-award-winner at Cannes.

It felt to me, when I watched it in May, that one of the most hyped films at the festival had finally delivered, despite some critics claiming it shouldn’t have won the prize. And now it finally makes its way to cinemas.

If you were looking for anything boundary-breaking or flashy, that isn’t Fjord at all – and it was refreshing to see the Cannes jury acknowledge that those aren’t the only prerequisites of success and artistic merit.

Rather, it’s a movie of subtle, realistic storytelling centred around two impressively non-showy turns from its stars, Stan and fellow Oscar-nominee Renate Reinsve.

It also really pulls you in on a topic that’s going to cause huge conversation, gently interrogating both sides and focusing on the nuances.

However, it remains to be seen if its early success will see Fjord successfully take on the likes of The Odyssey and the upcoming Dune: Part Three, as well as other festival favourites like Elsinore and Wild Horse Nine when it comes to awards season.

Stan and Reinsve play Mihai and Lisbet Gheorghiu, a Romanian and Norwegian couple and conservative Christians who move with their five children back to their mother’s birthplace, a remote and liberal village in Norway.

And this is Stan as he’s not been seen – or heard – before, balding and speaking his native Romanian in the film, as well as English. He’s completely convincing as a strict father but mild-mannered person, stripped of any swagger or star charisma. Sentimental Value’s Reinsve matches him in her meekness, avoiding any over-the-top displays of emotion, instead focusing quietly on her family and evangelising.

While they are initially welcomed with open arms by the close-knit community – the children’s headteacher is their neighbour – things begin to dramatically unravel when bruises are spotted on the body of their eldest daughter, Elia (Vanessa Ceban), raising suspicions about potentially abusive behaviour at home.

What’s clever about Fjord is you never see anything disturbing happen, but the way Mungiu uses certain phrases and slowly reveals information throughout the film means viewers continually question what they’re told and who they may seek to blame.

Fjord begins with Elia clearly having just been punished by her father, and being told to – reluctantly – apologise and hug him. Then she and her brother Emmanuel (Jonathan Ciprian Breazu) begin to taste a little rebellious freedom with neighbour Noora (Henrikke Lund-Olsen), with their parents painted as controlling and overly-severe – potentially even abusive.

There are unsettling comments too; Mihai and Lisbet say they moved their children from Romania ‘for their own good’ when asked if the kids were upset with the change, and Mihai refuses to relent on a punishment for Elia and Emmanuel when Noora asks, simply responding ‘they can be cheerful when they’re grown up’.

But as Child Protection Services become involved, questioning the Gheorghius, separating them from their children and pursuing prosecution to the full extent of the law, the couple find it challenging to stand up for themselves. The local police chief (Thorbjørn Harr) has Mihai sign a ruinous statement that almost certainly wouldn’t have got past him if it had been written in his native Romanian.

At 146 minutes, Fjord certainly takes its time. However, the quality of its performances and the all-too-real detail included in proceedings largely prevents it from feeling like it drags.

The film isn’t afraid to engage with the knottier elements and ironies of a more liberal society, as well as discrimination, racism and the rights of the state versus those of the parents.

For a quiet film on the surface, it has a lot to say.

Fjord is in cinemas from today.

This review was originally published on May 20.

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