Fjord Details a Family’s Sudden Nightmare in Norway

Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu makes thoughtful movies about social issues that cross international borders: In 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, a young Romanian woman risks her life for an illegal abortion. R.M.N. explores xeno-phobia in a small Transylvanian village, dissecting the complexity of spontaneous human impulses in the process. Mungiu’s films can spur us to think anew about issues we’d rather keep in the background, and they can at times be deeply moving. They can also feel dreary and instructive, in an eat-your-vegetables way.Mungiu’s Fjord, which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes earlier in the year, offers a healthy dose of very nutritious vegetables, and in places the story almost—almost—stretches the bounds of believability. But its actors, including Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve, as well as two young newcomers, make you believe in one family’s sudden nightmare. Do the authorities entrusted to protect our children always know what’s best for them? Fjord suggests, provocatively, that the answer may not always be yes.Mihai Gheorghiu (Stan), who is Romanian, and his Norwegian wife Lisbet (Reinsve) have just relocated with their five children from Romania to Norway, to...