Fjord (2026)

For the first time in years, someone in the AFI Meetup group suggested a viewing. It didn't sound scary, despite "thriller" being among the assigned genres, but I wanted to resume the practice ASAP. Only I accepted the invitation, alas, but at least the suggester and I had a good talk afterward.

The main Gheorghiu family consists of husband Mihai (Sebastian Stan), wife Lisbet (Renate Reinsve), and five kids ages 0 to maybe 14. They move from Romania to Norway for proximity to Lisbet's relatives. Then they learn the hard way that the Norwegian government has different restrictions on what it tolerates in parental discipline. Child Welfare Services takes the kids away, promising to return them if the parents are acquitted of physical abuse charges. The parents grow desperate. When playing by the standard rules doesn't work, Mihai drums up international outrage, which might just backfire in court.

More than half the dialog is in heavily accented English, with slight differences between the audio and subtitles. This may emphasize the culture clash between nations. I don't know whether modern Norwegians are prejudiced against Romanians in general, but they certainly dislike the Gheorghius' evangelical religiosity: The prosecution brings it up many times as a case against reunion.

How strict are these parents? Well, I for one would allow kids some dancing and YouTube and caution them against harsh statements to gays, but keeping them off smartphones sounds like a plus to me. It's rather telling when school staff find the tune of "Amazing Grace" too cheerless. Who's the more extreme?

As for physical abuse, the parents admit only to occasional minor slaps on the wrist and rear, intending to prevent the kids from hurting themselves worse. But multiple bruises on the eldest daughter, which she unconvincingly blames on a fall, spark the investigation in the first place. We never get a definite answer on where those came from; a fight between peers, especially in gym class wrestling, seems plausible.

I and the other Meetup member got the impression that the filmmakers mean to leave us wondering which side to take. In that regard, it reminds me of A Separation. That said, with my bias in the Gheorghius' favor, I also thought of The Hunt. (Come to think of it, aren't they all low on background music?) Guess foreign dramas favor realistic moral ambiguity more than Hollywood does.

So do I. Fjord is emotionally effective because we can totally see it happening. Child abuse is a serious issue, but where do you draw the line in intervening, especially on mere suspicion?

Both of us hope the group continues meeting up. If not, at least we ended on a high note.