THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS.

No one should be surprised that, on Halloween night with the WNBA Finals in the balance, Nate spent his evening at the movies, watching a Norwegian courtroom drama in a theater by himself. Priorities! This weekend will be big for me movie-wise; I rewatched Wildwood yesterday and I’m following it up with Fjord, The Only Living Pickpocket in New York, Wicker, and La Bola Negra over the next three days. While its chances of securing a Best Picture nom have faded in favor of La Bola Negra, I was still interested in the Palme d’Or-winning Fjord, and man, did I leave the theater with some complex feelings.

There was plenty to like about Fjord, and the family at its center was obviously number one. Their dynamic was so sweet and loving, and I was really earnestly enjoying it at the beginning because I didn’t know anything about this movie and had no idea they’d soon be torn apart. Every performance was strong, especially from the two former Oscar nominees (Reinsve and Stan), but Vanessa Ceban also deserves a shoutout. Ceban has *checks again* zero acting credits, and she crushed in an admittedly tough first role. I wish the Oscars had a Best Newcomer award for her, but I’ll make sure to list her on my NTFCA ballot. The film was quite pretty, too, though I bet I could have shot Norway in the winter and it would’ve been gorgeous. Seems like a pretty easy gig, cinematographer!

The most impressive quality of Fjord was its familial and legal drama, and just how morally gray and conflicting it was. I had heard that this movie was receiving backlash for its conservative Christian leanings, but I think the film is more nuanced than that simplification. The film did an excellent job of demonstrating the flaws and missteps of both the Gheorgiu family and Child Protection. The uber- Christian values and archaic parenting tactics were cause for alarm for sure, but Child Protection also overstepped frequently and proceeded unfairly on shaky evidence.

Both sides played dirty and manipulated throughout the case—Mihai rallied international online trolls and angry protestors to condemn Child Protection as “Satanic”, and Child Protection inconsistently prioritized different child freedoms, permitting speech on sexual orientation but not on religion, however flagrant said speech was. The prosecution misleadingly linked pieces of evidence and was allowed to ask some aggressive leading questions. This back-and-forth had me feeling weird for most of the movie. Was I siding with the ultra-conservative parents who may be abusing their kids? Who truly had the kids’ best interests in mind?

Even though the film ends with a resolution to the case—all five children reunited with their parents—I didn’t feel resolved as a viewer. What do we learn from this? Fjord will undoubtedly sit with me for a while as I grapple with its complicated characters and moral ambiguities. Fjord was a challenging film (complimentary) and a slow burn (derogatory—the movie’s glacial pace was definitely my biggest problem with it), and in a perfect world, it would spark countless conversations at the family dinner table during the many upcoming holidays. Fortunately and unfortunately, audiences have been blessed with oodles of great conversation movies, from Digger to You Can See Everything and the blockbusters, too. Even if Fjord gets buried among the slew of great movies this fall, it won’t soon leave my mind, and it will definitely show up on my NTFCA ballot in December—and not just in one place.

Oh, and if you were wondering: in my theater of one, I did watch the final minutes of Game 7 of the WNBA Finals as the credits rolled. Go Valks! What a story.