41/31
Armand, a 6-year-old boy, is accused of going too far with his best friend in elementary school.. Official submission of Norway in the category of Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards 2025.. The grandson of Ingmar German and Liv Ullman has presented a debut with Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel that shows a lot of potential, but despite its ambitious concept and strong moments, it cannot fully sustain the narrative and ends up in a limbo. The psychological drama and the themes of the school system and the battle of intelligence between people that are dealt with are a good concept, especially if you don’t know much from a European perspective. With good camera work and sound design, a claustrophobic setting and tension are created. The performances of the cast, especially Renate Reinsve, were great and seemed realistic. Unfortunately, the film does not work because of the way the narrative is written and how bumpy it feels. Many of the text components have good concepts, but the surrealist approach didn’t work, and the film feels repetitive and convoluted as it goes on. This makes it a bit difficult to really understand the characters, connect with them, or find them believable at times. I like films with stories like this, but I can’t really get into it because of the convoluted writing style and repetition. Tøndel’s direction is good, but at some moments it felt a bit out of place and lost. Since there is a lot of dialogue, it is a mix of good and not so good dialogue. At the core, Tøndel has a lot of talent, and this film shows his talent and potential to be a good filmmaker in the future. But there is still a lot of work to be done.