Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve were left deeply moved on Monday night as the Cannes Film Festival audience erupted into an emotional response for their new drama, Fjord.
Directed by Palme d’Or winner Cristian Mungiu, the heart-wrenching family legal saga brought searing drama to the Grand Palais, reducing members of the crowd to gasps and visible shock.
The film follows the agonizing story of a couple whose children are stripped from their care by an overreaching state, a storyline that clearly struck a chord with the festival attendees.
Addressing the room after the emotional screening, Mungiu expressed his gratitude in both French and English, thanking everyone present for trusting him with the story.
The acclaimed director noted that Cannes remains the ultimate indicator of whether or not a film will stand the test of time.
Mungiu is no stranger to success on the Croisette, having previously won the prestigious Palme d’Or in 2007 for 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, alongside Best Screenplay in 2012 and Best Director in 2016.
His lead actors are also celebrated festival veterans; Stan previously attended for the Donald Trump biopic The Apprentice, while Reinsve took home the Best Actress trophy for The Worst Person in the World before returning last year with the Grand Prix-winning Sentimental Value.
The tense narrative of Fjord centers on the Gheorghiu family, made up of a Romanian father, played by Stan, and a Norwegian mother, played by Reinsve, who emigrate to a sleepy, remote Norwegian village where the mother was born.
Holding strict religious beliefs, the family initially settles in well, quickly bonding with their neighbors, the Halbergs, whose children become close friends with theirs.
However, their lives are violently thrown into chaos when clashing social norms escalate into a living nightmare.
Suspected of disturbing behavior, the couple faces intense small-town scrutiny as the state steps in to remove their teenagers, tweens, and an infant over allegations of abuse.
