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James Mottram

4/5 stars
Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu steps out of his comfort zone with Fjord, a film about a religious couple facing the wrath of Norway’s Child Protection Services.
Nineteen years ago, Mungiu won the Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or for his second feature film, the stark abortion drama 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days. This latest film, with Mungiu directing the highest-profile actors of his career, is no less provocative.
Set in a remote Norwegian village with backdrops so spectacular you can practically smell the unpolluted air, the film focuses on the Gheorghiu family.
Mihai (Sebastian Stan) is a Romanian software engineer who has moved with his Norwegian wife, Lisbet (Renate Reinsve), back to her birthplace to raise their five children with strict Evangelical Christian values.
In the opening scene, we see daughter Elia (Vanessa Ceban) admonished by her father; their upbringing consists of daily prayers and Bible study rather than video games and YouTube.

When a teacher notices bruising on Elia during gym class, she and her brother, Emmanuel (Jonathan Ciprian Breazu), are questioned. The teens innocently admit that, yes, occasionally they are disciplined by their father.
“A slap on the butt is not hitting,” Mihai later argues, but the Norwegian authorities see it very differently. The children are taken into care, while the parents face both criminal and civil cases in an almost Kafkaesque turn of events.
“This country says it’s civilised,” spits one Romanian ally, as Fjord appears stationed at the crossroads of progressive versus conservative values.
Mungiu carefully constructs a drama almost as ice-cold as its surroundings, with no easy answers forthcoming. At times, it feels like Mihai and Lisbet’s beliefs, rather than their parenting skills, are being put on trial – although the fiery Mihai hardly helps as he musters support online.
As word spreads, placard-waving, graffiti-spraying Christian protesters soon begin clamouring for the release of the children.

Reinsve and Stan, in their second on-screen collaboration following 2024’s wondrous A Different Man, are thoroughly lived-in as a couple.
Almost unrecognisable from his Bucky Barnes character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with a balding head and glasses, Stan also gets a rare chance to return to his Romanian roots – a role he embraces wholeheartedly.
While Mungiu has explored issues surrounding the Romanian church and state in the past, this feels like an ambitious leap forward. Avoiding hysterics or courtroom showdowns, the story simmers rather than screams, as Mungiu allows us the space to contemplate, question and debate.
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Fjord, set in a remote Norwegian village with stunning backdrops, explores a religious couple’s clash with Norway’s Child Protection Services


Fjord, set in a remote Norwegian village with stunning backdrops, explores a religious couple’s clash with Norway’s Child Protection Services.


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.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Fjord, set in a remote Norwegian village with stunning backdrops, explores a religious couple’s clash with Norway’s Child Protection Services

Fjord, set in a remote Norwegian village with stunning backdrops, explores a religious couple’s clash with Norway’s Child Protection Services