Paul & I are rolling into press screenings at the legendary 14-screen Scotiabank Theatre like a boss! We wound up seeing a few of the same movies but eventually, these two writing movie souls must go their separate ways and cover the heck out of the 2026 edition of the Toronto International Film Festival. Here’s our first, FJORD, which just had its premiere at the Princess of Wales Theatre tonight!
About: In the latest from masterful Cristian Mungiu (Graduation, TIFF ’16; R.M.N, TIFF ’22), Lisbet (Renate Reinsve, TIFF ’25’s Sentimental Value) and Mihai Gheorghiu (Sebastian Stan, TIFF ’23’s Dumb Money) are a conservative Christian couple who’ve relocated from Romania to an isolated Norwegian town with their five children.
Unlike their new neighbours, the Gheorghius enforce daily bible study and don’t allow trappings like smartphones and YouTube. The family’s rigid beliefs cause a stir when one of the children is accused of introducing religious bias into their school by criticizing another student’s sexual orientation. This, however, is just the beginning of the family’s problems. When a teacher notices a bruise on another of their kids, a cascade of events — mimicking the avalanches we see behind the schoolyard in the icy locale — is set in motion.
Unlike her strong-willed husband, Lisbet, Norwegian by birth, is fluent in the local language and adept at navigating cultural nuances. Meanwhile, Mihai, steadfast in what he sees as his right to educate his offspring as he sees fit, admits to the occasional spanking. This triggers a storm of controversy — and is certain to evoke strong, varying opinions from viewers.
Winner of the prestigious Palme d’Or at Cannes, Fjord is an intricate, gripping courtroom drama driven by a profound moral dilemma, where private lives are laid bare for public scrutiny. Shot by frequent Mungiu collaborator Tudor Vladimir Panduru, the film marks a powerful return for the auteur whose 2007 masterpiece 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days helped launch the celebrated Romanian New Wave. (From the official TIFF notes)
Reaction: 4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days is one of my all time favourite festival experiences, when I went into its screening at the Vancouver International Film Festival with only knowing its festival awards and accolades and not knowing what to expect. The end result was, to me, an announcement of the major talent known as Cristin Mungiu hailing from Romania. Since then I have quite liked Beyond The Hills & Graduation and his latest film here is a fascinating slow burn of a study of what happens to people when they are accused in a different part of the world where their own personal beliefs are challenged.
There’s quite a lot to unpack here and I don’t want to spoil the surprises throughout, but the movie finds its way to a rather unique court situation after a husband and wife (Sebastian Stan and Renate Rensive) must endure after allegations made against them by their children’s school. This concept and its snall town Norway setting feels quite original based off of all of the courtroom dramas we have seen in the past. The movie is incredibly effective in how it shows its leads feeling powerless to defend their actions towards the rest of their family.
At a quite epic two-and-a-half-hours, you REALLY have to be in the mood for this one but I was quite taken aback by slowly revealing its characters, motivations and especially sticking to your guns when you feel all the walls are up against you. Featuring near perfect performances by Sebastian Stan* and Renate Rensive and a gorgeous visual look that even extends beyond the courtroom scenes with one hell of a view, Fjord is quite a challenging piece of work that I actually want to see again and study, and I know audiences will be discussing quite a few key turns in this story as well.
*And yes, I’m that type of moviegoer that sometimes doesn’t recognize people when they change their makeup or hair, so if you were at the screening and you heard someone at the screening gasp by seeing an unrecognizable Sebastian Stan mentioned in the end credits….yeah, that was me.
Rating: 8 out of 10
FJORD opens October 9th in cinemas in North America and has an additional screening at this year’s TIFF. Don’t miss it!