Nordic Watchlist has been very lucky to team up with Cinema Perspective writer Garry Arnot. Garry has been writing for Cinema Perspective since 2013 and you will regularly see his quotes on films, reviews, and interviews (his most recent being with The Outrun star Saoirse Ronan and director Nora Fingscheidt).
Most recently Garry was at the Edinburgh Film Festival and got the opportunity to watch Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel‘s debut Armand which has picked up a lot of hype and only just screened in Norway this week! Here is Garry’s review of the film.
Accusations in schools have formed the dramatic catalyst of excellent world cinema in recent years like in tense thriller The Teachers’ Lounge, sprawling epic About Dry Grasses, or going back as far as 2012 in The Hunt by Thomas Vinterberg. The latest in this niche subgenre is Armand, a Norwegian social-realist drama which marks the directorial debut of Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel.
The plot follows Elizabeth (Renate Reinsve) as she is called into her six-year-old son’s classroom for an urgent meeting about an allegation of serious misconduct. She is met by nervous young teacher Sunna (Thea Lambrechts Vaulen), as well as Sarah (Ellen Dorrit Petersen) and Anders (Endre Hellestveit), the parents of the boy that has made the allegation.
Set almost entirely within the confines of the primary school, Tøndel’s confident direction quickly sets the tone and crafts palpable tension through making the location itself feel foreboding; ominous shots of footsteps in echoey corridors, dimly lit stairwells, and a reoccurring fire drill motif that amplifies the unease. Due to the sensitive nature of the conversations had, the thrilling script see the characters tactfully skirt around issues at hand and as the story develops, layers of darkness and complexity are slowly unveiled. The metaphorical dance of these difficult discussions is more effective than scenes of literal dance when the narrative veers off into bizarre fantastical interludes – these feel a little ill-judged within the context of the film and detract from the central thread rather than enhancing it.
Renate Reinsve had a seismic breakthrough a few years ago with an acclaimed leading performance in Joachim Trier’s anti-romantic indie The Worst Person in the World. She achieves a vulnerability and humility in characters that, on the surface, might not be very well-liked, and she succeeds in that again with her mesmerising turn as Elizabeth. At times it feels as though she is on a different wavelength to everyone around her, pulling the film into the most uncomfortable spaces.
As bleak as the subject matter is, the film isn’t without its humour and this largely comes from the supporting cast, in particular the staff at the school; a profusely sweating headteacher (Øystein Røger) and an assistant with a nosebleed problem (Vera Veljovic-Jovanovic) elevate every awkward moment as they desperately try to handle the optics of the delicate situation.
After its world premiere at Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, Armand deservedly received the Caméra d’Or prize which is awarded to the best first feature. Director Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel has set a high bar for himself, illustrating a flair for subtle tonal shifts in this sharp and stimulating debut.
Armand has no set release date yet for the UK or USA but as soon as we get one we will be sure to share with you. In the meantime give Garry a follow over at @CinemaPerspective!
