The Cannes Film Festival flipped for “Fjord” on Monday night, as Cristian Mungiu’s heart-wrenching family legal saga starring Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve brought searing drama to the Grand Palais.
A Romanian family with strict religious beliefs emigrates to a sleepy Norwegian village — watching as clashing social norms escalates into a living nightmare when their children are stripped from them over alleged abuse. The premiere audience gasped and snorted in disbelief as Stan and Reinsve suffer the indignity of an overreaching state — removing teens, tweens and an infant from their loving care.
“I want to thank everybody here for trusting me,” Mungiu said in French and then in English, saying Cannes was the ultimate indicator of whether or not his film would stand the test of time.
“Fjord” follows the Gheorghiu family — consisting of a Romanian father (Stan) and Norwegian mother (Reinsve) — as they settle into new life in a remote Norwegian village, the mother’s birthplace. They quickly bond with the Halbergs, who live in the neighboring house near the bay, and, despite their very different upbringings, the children of both families soon become close friends. When the Gheorghius are suspected of disturbing behavior, their lives are thrown into chaos as they become the center of small-town scrutiny.
Mungiu won Cannes’ highest honor, the Palme d’Or, in 2007 with “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days,” and was later awarded the festival’s best screenplay prize in 2012 for “Beyond the Hills” and the best director prize in 2016 for “Graduation.” His 2022 drama “R.M.N.” also competed in competition at Cannes. Mungiu’s cast is also made of Cannes veterans, as Stan attended for the Donald Trump movie “The Apprentice” and Reinsve won best actress for “The Worst Person in the World.” Reinsve was back at Cannes last year for “Sentimental Value,” which won the Grand Prix.
“Fjord” was picked up by Neon a year before its Cannes debut. The distributor has become synonymous with dominating Cannes as its movies have taken home the Palme d’Or every year since 2019: “Parasite,” “Titane,” “Triangle of Sadness,” “Anatomy of a Fall,” “Anora” and “It Was Just an Accident.” Neon has several other Cannes premieres this year, including “Hope,” “Paper Tiger” and more.
