Fjord, now playing, State Theatre
This year’s Cannes Film Festival winner of the Palme d’Or and best director, Cristian Munjiu awards, centers on an immigrant Romanian family in Norway whose cultural and religious beliefs collide with the country they’ve settled in. Loosely inspired by a real-life family separation case in 2015, Fjord begins with Mihai Gherghiu (Sebastian Stan), a devout Christian from Romania, and his Norwegian wife, Lisbet (Renate Reinsve), moving from Romania to Norway with their five children. The teenage daughter of their neighbor, already rebellious, strikes a close friendship with Gherghiu’s children which raises concern between both sets of parents. Mats and Mia, a more secular family, are weary of the Gherghiu’s strict religious beliefs, and the Gherghiu’s worry about their children might stray under the influence of outsiders. When one of the Gherghiu’s children has a bruise found at school, it’s revealed that occasional spanking occurs in the home. Norway’s Child Welfare Services separates all five children leaving the Gherghius with limited recourses to obtain custody again. The film attempts to present its story as neutrally as possible. Its central theme explores government overreach, and the film attempts to allow the audience to draw conclusions with as little spoon feeding from the filmmaker as possible.
Also Starring Lisa Carleshed and Markus Scarth Tonseth.
Wicker, now playing, State Theatre
Directed by husband-and-wife team, Alex Huston Fisher and Eleanor Wilson, Wicker is an earthy fairytale about a fisherwoman (Olivia Coleman) who has spent a lifetime being the butt of villager’s jokes about her looks and lack of a husband. One day she decides to do something about it. She asks the village basket maker to weave her a husband, sparking jealousy, outrage and chaos among the townsfolk. Charming, quirky and probably not for everyone, this isn’t quite a conventional fantasy film. Fans of Olivia Coleman’s work will find much to enjoy.
Also starring Peter Dinklage and Alexander Skarsgard.
Everest: The Other Side, now playing, State Theatre
From Elizabeth Chai Vasarhely and Jimmy Chin, directors of Free Solo, comes Everest: The Other Side, a stunning documentary about two mountaineers’ ambition to reach the pinnacle of their sport. Jim Morrison and Hilaree Nelson are the film’s subjects who are religiously drawn to an incredibly dangerous sport and a relationship with each other. The film explores why they feel the need to engage in the sport even when, as parents, they run the risk of not making it home to their children or at the worst, being separated from them for long periods of time. Some have wished the film would’ve explored the dynamic between ego, risk and the big question of WHY more fully — but this is a National Geographic production which means that action, suspense, and incredible photography will be front and center. Not for the faint of heart!
