What Parents Pass Down: Cristian Mungiu on Fjord (2026)
Updated: 20 hours ago
Last week, I sat down with Romanian-born writer and director Cristian Mungiu to discuss his latest release, Fjord (2026). Fjord is Mungiu’s second Palme d’Or-winning feature film, following his 2007 social realist drama, 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days. Like many works in his filmography, Fjord touches on timely social and political issues in Romanian culture. However, his films’ successes in international film festivals and American awards shows speak to the relatability of these themes to a broader audience.
In particular, Fjord serves to critique the close-mindedness and dogmatism of today’s political climate, following a conservative, Christian family who are antagonized for their traditional, faith-based parenting style upon moving to a radically progressive village in Norway. Renate Reinsve (The Worst Person in the World, Sentimental Value) and Sebastian Stan (Captain America: Winter Soldier, A Different Man)’s subtle yet powerful performances as Lisbet and Mihai Gheorghiu, the mother and father of the central family, clash with the cold, unsympathetic characterization of the caseworkers and lawyers they face throughout the film. Mungiu’s complex portrayal of the family’s experience prompts viewers to contemplate the morality of both sides of the conflict, regardless of their own backgrounds and beliefs.
In our interview, I asked Mungiu whether his previous experiences as a teacher and lecturer had influenced his depiction of the child welfare and education systems in this film. Specifically, I wondered if any specific instances or interactions Mungiu had with students or their families had contributed to the seemingly critical stance taken against these institutions in his film. He answered that his perspective had actually been most heavily shaped by his twofold role as both an educator and a parent to his own children.
Mungiu’s main dilemna, he explained, is the same issue also explored in his 2016 crime fiction film Graduation, which examines the bounds of morality through an intensely wrought father-daughter relationship. In the film, the father violates laws and ethical codes that force the viewer to consider how far a parent should be willing to go to protect their child. Through this story, Munigu contemplates his own internal debate: whether parents, when educating their children, should prioritize the morals of a utopian world or the practical savvy to navigate our flawed reality. This deliberation is continued in Fjord, which is similarly concerned with questions about morality and parenthood.
Mungiu described how his personal experiences with parenting have had an enormous impact on his writing. Nearly every story element in the film, he says, is connceted to moments in his own life, whether it be conversations with his children or moments from his own childhood. As a father, Mungiu does his best to keep an open mind and allow himself to be challenged by his children. He puts great thought into what teachings he decides to pass down from his own upbringing, reminding himself that changing his mind does not affect his authority as a parent. He admitted that his films reflect his own struggles to strike the right balance between the idyllic and cynical approaches to parenting and avoid passing down the potentially harmful teachings from his parents.
Because of the difficulties he faces when educating children, Mungiu said that he prefers to work with older students. He claimed that it is easier for him to talk to teenagers and young adults than children, because they are already familiar with the reality of the world. However, he said that he does his best to treat his children and younger students as people with their own opinions. Similarly, in directing Fjord, Mungiu attempts to treat his child actors with the same honesty as the adult members of the cast. As a result, Vanessa Ceban, Jonathan Ciprian Breazu, and Henrikke Lund-Olsen, who play the three Gheorghiu children, are able to provide powerful performances that capture the nuance of the characters Mungiu wrote.
Mungiu asserts that while it may feel like a risk to approach educating children with a more ideal world in mind, he feels that principles more important than anything else. In making Fjord, Mungiu attempted to incorporate this sentiment into his writing and direction. After all, parents cannot expect the world to become a better place for the next generation unless they educate their own children to value these ideals.
Kate Given is a junior in Film & Media Studies at Columbia College and the co-Publisher for Double Exposure. She believes the best movies get better with every rewatch.