Director Cristian Mungiu, Palme d'Or award winner for the film "Fjord", reacts on stage next to cast members Renate Reinsve and Sebastian Stan, during the closing ceremony of the 79th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, Saturday(local time). Reuters-Yonhap
Cristian Mungiu’s Norway-set drama about political polarization, “Fjord,” has won the Palme d’Or, handing the Cannes Film Festival ’s top honor for the second time to Mungiu, the Romanian director of “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days.”
At a 79th Cannes Film Festival that saw few films cause a stir, “Fjord” found wide admiration for its engrossing tale of what Mungiu called “left-wing fundamentalism.” It stars Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve as Romanian Evangelicals who move to Norway, but soon after have their children taken from them by child services for spanking them.
“Today the society is split. It’s divided. It’s radicalized,” said Mungiu. “This film is a pledge against any type of fundamentalism. It's a pledge for these things we quote very often, like trauma and inclusion and empathy. These are lovely words but we need to apply them more often.”
Mungiu becomes just the 10th filmmaker to win the Palme d’Or twice. His “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days,” a Romanian abortion drama, won the award in 2007.
