This year’s Palme d’Or winner is a divisive one. And it aims to be.
After winning his first Palme d'Or in 2007 for 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu took home Cannes’ top prize this year for the second time with Fjord. It’s a thought-provoking social drama which asks a question that will be tough to answer for some, especially in current times: Would you fight for the rights of someone even if you fundamentally disagreed with them?
Inspired by real events and recent cases in Norway, the story sees the Gheorghiu family arrive in the remote Scandinavian port town of Ålesund. Mihai (Sebastian Stan), a Romanian aeronautical engineer, and his wife Lisbet (Renate Reinsve), a Norwegian nurse, have five children and are deeply devout Evangelicals. As they settle into their new environment, the well-mannered couple are faced with suspicions of physically abusing their children, an accusation stemming from a teacher noticing bruises on their eldest daughter Elia (Vanessa Ceban).
This sets in motion a series of events as sudden as the avalanches which occur behind the school. The authorities act very quickly, with Norwegian Child Protection Services taking the children away from their parents – including the infant still being breastfed by her mother - and placing them in foster care while the investigation is ongoing.
