A quaint, liberal Norwegian village becomes a hotbed of tension in Fjord, the newest film from Romanian director Cristian Mungiu. Known for his remarkable Palme d’Or-winning abortion drama 4 months, 3 weeks, and 2 days, Mungiu turns his focus towards another complicated issue: what happens when what is viewed as normal parenting in a family’s native culture is seen as child abuse in their new home?
Mungiu is one of only nine directors (or director duos) who have won the Palme d’Or twice, and Fjord is his eighth film. The movie is an international co-production between Romania, France, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark—which may seem like an ironic amount of international cooperation behind the film, given that so much of the plot revolves around the clash of values that can occur when people from different cultures intermingle.
Fjord centers on Mihai (Sebastian Stan) and Lisbet Gheorghiu (Renate Reinsve), a couple who have moved from Romania to a remote Norwegian town with their five children. At first, everything seems fine: the town is quiet, the dramatic landscape is incredibly picturesque, and the neighbors are welcoming. Soon, however, the family’s conservative religious parenting style begins to bother a few members of the progressive liberal community. Before long, Lisbet and Mihai have been accused of child abuse, their conservative beliefs are under scrutiny, and they are forced to navigate the complicated Norwegian child-protection system to try and prove their right to raise their children.
The icy waters and steep mountains of Norway’s coast are an intense backdrop for this social drama. Amidst this stark landscape, Sebastian Stan delivers a subtle performance across three languages, with a nearly unrecognizable bald head and repressed tension bubbling below his stoic exterior. Renate Reinsve, on the other hand, is a trembling flurry of emotion, ready to burst into tears at any moment. Reinsve has become a recent arthouse favorite, known for films like Backrooms, The Worst Person in the World, and Sentimental Value. Stan, meanwhile, continues to be one of the few MCU actors willing to cash in his Marvel cache by taking chances with bold, interesting projects, having recently played Donald Trump in The Apprentice and co-starred alongside Reinsve in A Different Man. Both actors are good as always, though Stan’s part is the more complex character.
Fjord offers a thorny probing look at a complicated issue, raising questions about what should happen when conservative family practices & religious beliefs clash with progressive societal values. Mungiu seems to enjoy poking at the seemingly unfeeling bureaucracy of Norway, with government officials and social service workers being portrayed with almost cartoonish levels of obstinacy and lack of empathy. This makes Fjord a very frustrating watch at times, as viewers’ sympathies may naturally lie with the family in question. At the same time, liberal audiences are sure to bristle against the Gheorghiu’s dominating parenting style and seeming religious indoctrination of their children.
As the film slowly evolves into a procedural drama, audiences may find the pacing begins to drag, though this is sometimes to the benefit of the film, as we feel the length of the proceedings and the separation between the Gheorghiu’s and their children. In any case, pacing is likely just one of many hot discussion topics that might arise when Fjord gets a wider release. Mungiu raises questions about who deserves to decide how best to raise our children, and the extent to which liberal societies can tolerate value differences—very salient matters in times of increasing sociopolitical polarization across the globe.
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Fjord— Romania, France, Norway, Sweden, Denmark. Dialog in Romanian, Norwegian, English, Swedish. Directed by Cristian Mungiu. Running time 2 hour 26 min. First released May 18, 20265 at the Cannes Film Festival. Starring Sebastian Stan, Renate Reinsve, Lisa Carlehed, Ellen Dorrit Petersen, Lisa Loven Kongsli, Henrikke Lund-Olse.
This article is part of Cinema Escapist‘s dedicated coverage of the 2026 Vancouver International Film Festival.