Armand

Director: Halfdan Ullmann Tondel

17 June 2024

See

Elizabeth (Renate Reinsve) is called in to her son Armand’s primary school over an incident between himself and another boy Jon. At first it’s mishandled by inexperienced teacher Sunna (Thea Lambrechts Vaulen) moderating between Elizabeth and Jon’s parents Sarah (Ellen Dorrit Petersen) and Anders (Endre Hellestveit). But her veteran colleagues are just as clueless at handling such a fraught allegation.

Think

This reminds me of Thomas Vinterberg’s The Hunt, where Mads Mikkelsen’s character's struggles to hold on to his dignity after a similar allegation of sexual misconduct. His community turns on him just as whispers get out to the rest of the parents and teachers and they shun then devour Elizabeth. 

Feel

Renate Reinsve is a revelation. I loved her in The Worst Person in the World and here she matures into a mother trying to maintain then lose her composure as she cracks under the pressure, as anybody would with the odds stacked against them. The maniacal laughing crying scene was unsettling in how long it managed to last and hold the tension of uncertainty before alluding to another explanation that just leads to more questions; about her mental health, her husband's cause of death, and of course, did Armand do it? Symbolism is best conveyed here abstracts through dance, in a scene similar to the push pull of the mob and choosing sides reminiscent of Darren Aronofsky’s Mother! Another comparison is dancing with the janitor in Charlie Kaufman’s I’m Thinking of Ending Things.