Fjord

What is the public’s role in intervening on behalf of children in a private family matter? What constitutes infringing on the rights of bad parents? Fjord asks such thorny questions without supplying easy answers, passing judgment, or taking sides.

This gritty character-driven drama from acclaimed Romanian director Cristian Mungiu (4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days) is both provocative and discomforting as a portrait of domestic turmoil calibrated for a contemporary climate of ideological division, knee-jerk outrage, and xenophobic culture wars.

The story follows Mihai (Sebastian Stan) and Lisbet (Renate Reinsve), a devout evangelical couple from Romania who relocates to Norway with their four children — including an infant — to be closer to her relatives.

Although friendly enough, they ruffle feathers among the locals with their strict approach to parenting, such as requiring regular prayers, denying access to television and the internet, and light spankings.

So when their eldest daughter (Vanessa Ceban) shows up at school with a bruise, teachers assume the worst. Since the country has zero-tolerance for corporal punishment, the children are placed immediately into foster care. Mihai and Lisbet are charged with crimes, despite a curious lack of investigation or evidence.

As their ordeal spirals into a nightmare, their restraint feels remarkably admirable. Yet they’re also not victims in the traditional sense, nor likely to easily win sympathy from even the most open-minded moviegoers.

The film delves into a complex situation driven by moral ambiguity on all sides, without clear heroes or villains. Underlying themes of intolerance and indoctrination swirl beneath the surface of this searing examination of disciplinary boundaries, religious freedom, cultural oppression, spiritual persecution, and legal due process.

Mungiu’s incisive screenplay can feel manipulative and melodramatic, dealing in exaggerations to prove a point. But such tactics are effective. A sequence in which Lisbet is first interrogated by authorities in her own living room is riveting, as she reacts with a mix of defiance and disbelief.

Meanwhile, the multilingual performance by Stan (The Apprentice) is fully committed beyond just his physical transformation and thick accent. Reinsve (Sentimental Value) never allows her character’s reactive nature to feel passive.

Meant to push buttons and start conversations, Fjord lights a proverbial fire in its appropriately chilly setting.

Not rated, 146 minutes.