Mungiu digs into the psychology and morality of different traditions and beliefs from different backgrounds.
Written by Xiaoyi Wang
Director Cristian Mungiu, who already took home the Palme d’Or for 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days back in 2007, returned — one Best Screenplay Award and one more Best Director Award later — for his second Palme d’Or, making his name part of the very exclusive list of nine multiple winners.
Alongside him is Renate Reinsve (Backrooms), who has reigned over the past few editions of the Cannes Film Festival. Starring in Grand Prix laureate Sentimental Value in 2025, the Caméra d’Or-winning Armand in the Un Certain Regard selection in 2024, and taking home the Best Actress award for The Worst Person in the World back in 2021, any film she accompanies to Cannes seems to have a crown guaranteed.
The Palm d’Or this year follows Lisbeth (Reinsve) and Mihai Gheorghiu (Sebastian Stan, The Apprentice), a Romanian-Norwegian couple who have just moved with their five children from Romania to a coastal village in Norway. Upon arrival, they quickly befriend their neighbours, the Halbergs, whose daughter attends the same school as their children — and conveniently, her father is the school’s headteacher. The Gheorghius are a deeply traditional and Christian family, with an upbringing and set of habits very different from those of their new environment. Not long after settling in, the teachers notice bruising on their eldest daughter, Elia (Vanessa Ceban), at school. Suspecting domestic abuse, they alert child services, who begin investigating and interrogating the family before removing their children from them.
The whole situation quickly snowballs, turning into a legal drama surrounding the family’s traditional ways. The story entangles itself in many aspects of its quiet chill. On the Gheorghius’ side, Lisbeth is Norwegian, allowing her to communicate and defend herself, while Mihai, who is Romanian, is unable to do so, especially in front of law enforcement. On top of all this, their daughter Elia has been getting "too friendly" with their neighbour’s daughter, Noora (Henrikke Lund-Olsen), which neither family is particularly fond of.
At sport, Elia is the only kid in frame with fully covered clothing. Long sleeves and leggings instead of T-shirts or shorts like some other kids. Nothing is said, but you notice. The patriarchal family; the abusive means that hide behind tradition, makes one rather satisfied to see Elia being "badly influenced" by Noora. What makes the film more unusual is its habit of lodging itself in the grey areas, pulling us into questions of ethics and their extremes. It is clear that it is not making a statement, but displaying the events.
Mungiu does not limit his critique to Romanian traditionalism, as the dishonesty of the Norwegian ways gradually leaks through in moments of the family’s fragility, such as the police pressuring Mihai without providing proper understanding or explanations, and exploiting his language barrier to their advantage. The representative of the Western family, their neighbour the Halbergs, is just as suspicious. For a school headmaster, his daughter Noora is one of the school’s most troublesome students. And at home, Noora covers herself with her sheet when her father enters her bedroom. The patient and educated father’s sudden snaps at his family make the audience question whether she is really any better off than Elia.
You can’t help but be reminded of Justine Triet’s Anatomy of a Fall (2023), which took home the Palme d’Or just three years ago. In this case, however, it is never in doubt whether they have physically hurt their children. The camera is just as meticulous, a quiet captor of every move — like a pin drop. Mungiu digs into the psychology and morality of different traditions and beliefs from different backgrounds. We are but observers between the families; witnesses, if you like. Each family is a portrait of its own.
In front of the camera, the film is carried by some excellent performances from our leads. Reinsve delivers an introspective and deeply reliable performance as Lisbeth, the bridge between the two cultures, while Stan is almost unrecognizable in his role as the conventional and severe man of the house, taking drastic measures that do not necessarily help in an already drastic situation. It is also worth highlighting Lisa Carlehed’s performance as the neighbour who is also a lawyer. Being closer to Lisbeth, her character faces a difficult decision over whether to help defend them.
Though ominous and chilling in its undertone, there is also poetry in the film’s visual language. The cold air and colour, along with the misty atmosphere that haunts the film. The unnerving metaphorical moment of Noora "walking on water" weaves further layers into the storytelling. The ethics and their extremities, the abuse hiding behind traditions, and the pretence of a developed society are all put into frame.
Fjord premiered in Competition at the 79th Cannes Film Festival on May 18, and will screen at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, ahead of its U.S. and Canadian release in October.
Photo: Elevation Pictures
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