The feuds of ‘Fjord’

Courtesy of Neon.

“Fjord” is not a film of easy answers, but don’t take it from me; take it from its two-time Palme d’Or-winning director, Cristian Mungiu. 

“Normally we expect that the filmmaker would take you by the hand and run you through the film; the good things and bad things and all the questions are being answered by the end of the film…a film can be entertaining and still tell you something,” Mungiu told The Panther.

Mungiu met with a dozen college papers across the U.S. Oct. 2 at a virtual roundtable to ring in the release of his latest film. The film is currently in limited release, playing in select theaters, but will be expanding nationwide over the next several weeks, no doubt starting conversations as it rolls out.

Mungiu’s latest follows Mihai (Sebastian Stan) and Lisbet (Renate Reinsve) Gheorghiu, who move to Norway from Romania with their five children in tow. Mihai and Lisbet find work and, later, fellowship in their new community. That sense of belonging is split asunder by an investigation by Norwegian Child Services, spurred by one of their kid’s bruises a teacher notices at school. The kids are removed from their care and from there, Mihai and Lisbet must fight to bring their family back together again.

“Fjord,” like Mungiu’s previous film, “RMN,” is in part inspired by a real-life incident he came across in the news. However, it merely served purely as a source of inspiration. Mungiu has made no attempts to recreate or reenact true events. Mungiu spoke to many of the figures throughout the facets of the case that served as the impetus for “Fjord” and couldn’t tell what happened. He became intrigued by the ways in which personal beliefs played a role in these cases where the truth was nebulous and decisions had to be made.

“I start from these preexisting stories because I see in them the potential of speaking about something bigger than meets the eye when the press relates about that story,” Mungiu said. “I’m trying to understand what the press doesn’t relay. Why have things happened like this and what does it say and what does it say about the society in which we live and the trends of that society?” 

Mungiu saw “Fjord” as an opportunity to consider the evolving presence of both progressive and conservative values within cultures, through the experiences of a conservative family navigating a largely progressive society. 

The film posed many novel filmmaking challenges for even a seasoned pro like Mungiu. Here was his first film shot outside of Romania and his first in the English language; in addition to it being his first time working with stars like Stan and Reinsve, just as prevalent were the slew of challenges he didn’t expect. Shooting entirely in Norway, he expected a blanket of snow to be at his feet as a backdrop to the film’s tense meetings and hearings, but when he arrived he was surprised to find that there was no snow and had to change the daily shooting schedule to wait for the flakes.

Another occurrence where Mungiu and company had to roll with the punches was when “Fjord”’s first day of production was foiled by a storm. As Mungiu prepared to pivot into shooting a pivotal conversation between Lisbet and Child Services, he saw an opportunity to use the gusts of wind from the storm to convey her inner turmoil as her world gets shattered, but he needed an object to get tossed in the wind. 

Laundry on a clothesline was a no-go, but the production’s prop master was up to the task and found a Romanian flag that’s now a part of the film, a background actor of sorts that Mungiu speaks about with pride (“This flag that has his own personality within the film.”). That’s a choice that might seem minor, but with Mungiu’s stripped-down stylings that favor long takes and grounded performances, it was a simple and silent means of bringing the audience into Lisbet’s perspective.

“What’s important about this film is that I’m using the freedom that I have as a filmmaker not only to do an entertaining film but to bring something forward that would make people think…it allows people to use their critical spirit and analyze some facts happening in front of them,” Mungiu said.

Mungiu made a point to note that his characters are not extensions of himself and certainly don’t embody his own values and his ideas, nor the truth. He sees his own movies, “Fjord” in particular, as a necessary means of providing audiences with a look at perspectives they might otherwise avoid or ignore and looking beyond their own bubble.

“The aim of the film is to make you aware that there are some other people as convinced as you are that there is a truth belonging to them,” Mungiu said. “So how are we going to get out of this situation?”