Mihai (Sebastian Stan), a Romanian immigrant and Christian fundamentalist, and his Norwegian wife, Lisbet (Renate Reinsve), move to a small fjord village in western Norway with their five children. One day, after a teacher discovers bruises on their eldest daughter’s body, Child Welfare Services place all five children into foster care. Inspired by the real-life 2015 Bodnariu case, director Cristian Mungiu refuses to reduce this tragedy to a simplistic dichotomy of good versus evil. Without rushing to declare the parents’ guilt or innocence, he calmly observes them becoming ensnared in a Kafkaesque trap, sharply capturing the clash between a progressive system and traditional values through his signature intellectual gaze. Backed by masterful direction of long takes and dialogue, Mungiu crafts a socio-legal thriller that shakes even the audience’s own convictions. Fjord quietly yet relentlessly reminds us that understanding others ultimately begins with the effort to listen to their voices. (SEO Seunghee)