#TIFF26: “FJORD” REVIEW

By Nicholas Porteous

Mihai and Lisbet (Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve) uproot their family of seven from Romania and move to Norway. At first, the community welcomes them with open arms–but it’s not long before a quiet tension gives way to a life-altering ordeal. And much like those semi-regular avalanches just outside the town, the family is expected to stay cool in the face of almost-certain disaster. Fjord is this year’s Palme d’Or winner, and its many strengths are obvious. It’s a gripping Drama featuring a delicate-yet-powerful ensemble. The conceit is ambiguous in the best and worst way. It will force most viewers—myself included—to question their boundaries and sit in the discomfort of where and how to draw the line.

Which boundaries? Which lines?? Fjord is a tough film to truly discuss without spoiling its slowly unspooling yarn of twists and turns. Broadly speaking, it’s a cousin of Anatomy of a Fall and The Hunt. There’s a trial, our perspective is deliberately incomplete, but it’s clear that the system cannot reckon with the minutiae of whatever’s going on inside this family. Nothing is black and white, and forcing them into a box feels very far from justice. Also, much like its fellow recent Palme d’Or winner Anatomy of a Fall, Fjord‘s tone is deeply restrained. No violin-laden montages, no slow-mo muted revelations. Just raw, naturalistic drama. It’s a necessary restraint, mirroring the detached spectre of the trial itself, and the thoughtful, tense performances from Stan and Reinsve.

Fjord presents a human conundrum that defies easy judgement, and it casts a long shadow that has kept me pondering its profound predicament, days after the credits rolled.

Fjord screens at TIFF ’26:

Thurs. Sept 10 at 9:30 PM at The Princess of Wales

Fri. Sept 11 at 4:15 PM at Scotiabank Theatre