How ‘Fjord’ Challenges Hollywood’s Lecture Circuit

Expect an abundance of lectures this Oscar season.

From “Musk,” a three-plus-hour attack on the Tesla gazillionaire, to Tom Cruise’s Climate Change-obsessed “Digger,” Hollywood will roll out its favorite far-left TED Talks.

Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

And then there’s “Fjord.”

The Norwegian drama, in select theaters now before its October 23 expansion, doesn’t follow the Hollywood playbook. At times, it’s a course correction that will shock viewers.

The film follows a deeply religious Romanian family as they settle into their new Norwegian home. Mihai and Lisbet Gheorghiu (Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve) live a simple life with their five children.

They’re kind, giving, and make fast friends with their new neighbors. Their Christian faith rubs a few locals the wrong way, but otherwise their transition appears seamless.

Until one of their children shows up to school with visible bruises. School authorities assume the worst, and the family’s nightmare begins. The children are taken from the couple — including their breast-feeding infant — and their religious lifestyle comes under the microscope.

“Fjord” has earned high praise from most critics, including an early Rotten Tomatoes score of 91% “Fresh.” The film even snagged the top prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. What sets “Fjord” apart from recent Hollywood movies?

Balance. Nuance. Perspective.

Romanian writer-director Cristian Mungiu takes a subtle approach to the hot-button material. His perspective is clear, though. The film depicts a nanny state that should strike fear in the hearts of many, especially Democrats who think the Democratic Socialists of America has the solutions to America’s woes.

“If you don’t do what they want, they ‘civilize’ you,” one character in the film warns about the Norwegian authorities. Another chilling theme? Educators who assume they know better than parents what children need.

Audiences may connect that with harrowing stories of teachers hiding a student’s “new” gender from his or her parents.

Mungiu previously excoriated Communism with his 2007 film “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days.” That film sported a somewhat pro-choice narrative but captured the cruel life under a Communist Romanian regime. It, too, won the Palme d’Or.

The director hails from a formerly Communist nation, and he has the cinematic scars to prove it. He’s not afraid to bring hard conversations to the screen, but he’s also no fan of recent “message” movies:

I think that films became too political in the last 10 or 15 years, always confirming the “right values.” We need to balance this with films that allow us to express doubts about the values of the day. This is part of democracy and freedom that we need to keep alive as well.

His leading man shared some unexpected views during the film’s press tour. He recently appeared on the far-Left “Daily Show.” Host Michael Kosta pressed Stan on the film’s perceived “conservative” bias. The “Avengers: Endgame” alum didn’t deny it:

I think that is a pretty fair assessment, but that should not necessarily cancel out the issues that this family is facing or that the feelings that they have and the desire that they have to raise the kids in the best way they can. I think there’s probably always, right, on either side there needs to be an opening of the door, you know, for a sort of more of a back and forth to happen. But I mean — this is one thing. Like, when did conservative become so wrong?

Has he been paying attention to the messaging coming from his Hollywood peers over the last decade?

For context, Stan has also taken an active part in that messaging. He earned a Best Actor nomination for playing a young Donald Trump in 2024’s “The Apprentice.” The star used that film’s press rollout to excoriate President Trump and flesh out his liberal bona fides.

If you have any inkling of interest, go and really ask yourself: “Who is this man? Do you really know? Do you really trust this person to lead a country?” He’s been trying to censor this movie, and at the same time, he claims that he acknowledges free speech … I can’t think of anything more hypocritical. So at the end of the day, it’s about him as a character. Forget the politics and just go in there and use your instinct and ask yourself: Do you trust this man? That’s what the movie is about.

President Trump had threatened to sue the team behind “The Apprentice” for several egregious scenes he says were false, including an insinuation that he raped his former wife, Ivana Trump.

Earlier this year, Stan indirectly slammed President Trump anew during a press exchange:

When you’re looking at what’s happening, which is the consolidation of the media, censorship, the threats, the supposed lawsuits that seemingly never end, but don’t actually go anywhere, you know, the writing was on the wall.

So Stan’s recent comments are both surprising and welcome. That also captures the arguments fleshed out in “Fjord,” a rare example of true Hollywood diversity.

Diversity of thought, that is.

***

Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic and editor of HollywoodInToto.com. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News’ Big Hollywood. He’s also the host of The Hollywood in Toto Podcast. Follow him at @HollywoodInToto. 

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