An actual avalanche happens in the background of an early scene in “Fjord,” as snow gathers and masses and tumbles down a hill behind the school in a small, close-knit Norwegian village, eventually stalling before it becomes any kind of disaster. Later in the film, another happens in the same spot, this time breaking closer to the schoolhouse in a misty white burst, but no one is fazed: Protocol is followed, everyone heads inside, and the day proceeds as planned. Nature is no big deal in Cristian Mungiu‘s superb new drama of systemic order and individual disarray, which takes in the sprawling waters and monochrome mountainscapes of the region with a placidly appreciative eye. It’s human nature, concentrated and scrutinized and made ugly amid this splendor, that causes all the alarm.
The sixth feature from the Romanian writer-director — and the fifth to premiere in competition at Cannes, 19 years after “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days” landed the Palme d’Or — is his first to be set and shot outside his home country, with an international cast intelligently fronted by Sebastian Stan (in a rare onscreen reminder of his Romanian roots) and Norway’s Renate Reinsve. Many a great world cinema auteur has come unstuck when venturing farther afield, but in Mungiu’s case, the journey makes perfect sense: So much of his work has been preoccupied with globalization, migration and cultural divides between eastern and western Europe that “Fjord” feels immediately of a piece with his searching, bristling oeuvre, despite its crisp new setting.
