It brings me no pleasure to report that Sebastian Stan plays a conservative, bald homophobe—who maybe hits his kids—in his new movie, Fjord.
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who → bring → movie
But after attending a press screening of the film at New York Film Festival this week, I feel duty-bound to alert the Bucky fan girls and boys of this harsh reality.
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I → attend → reality
This new legal drama, which open in U.S. theaters on October 9, was written and directed by Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu, best known for his 2007 critically-acclaimed film, 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days.
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which → open → film
For Fjord, Mungiu was inspired by the true story of a Romanian family living in Norway, whose four children—and infant baby—were taken away by the country’s child protection services, after the parents admitted to spanking their children.
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parents → inspire → children
The 2016 case sparked worldwide protests.
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case → spark → protests
The Bodnariu family eventually got their kids back, nearly seven months after they were taken.
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they → get → kids
Stan stars in Fjord as Mihai Gheorghiu (whose name was changed from Marius Bodnariu), a religious Romanian man who moves his family to Norway, where his wife, Lisbet (Renate Reinsve, reuniting with Stan following 2024’s A Different Man), is from.
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wife → star → Man
We meet Mihai right after he has administered an unseen punishment to his eldest daughter, Elia (Vanessa Ceban).
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he → meet → daughter
He lectures her in English, through a thick Romanian accent: “You need to learn to admit when you’re wrong.”
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you → lecture → accent
The family’s new Norwegians neighbors are bemused by the family’s austere, Christian lifestyle (no phones, no non-religious music, no dancing) and discipline system.
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neighbors → bemuse → lifestyle
Mihai leads his children in daily Bible studies, issuing “points” when they are late, interrupt, or get an answer wrong.
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answer → lead → points
And what happens when they accumulate too many points?
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they → happen → points
“They can be cheerful when they are grown-ups,” he replies, dismissive, when a neighbor asks why he punishes his children this way.
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he → reply → children
One day, Elia shows up to her new secular school with a bruise on her cheek and back.
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Elia → show → cheek
A teacher overhears her brother claiming their mother “punished” Elia.
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mother → overhear → Elia
Child protection services are called.
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services → call → ?
In the blink of an eye, all five of the Gheorghiu children are taken from their home and parents.
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five → take → home
That includes the infant baby, who is still breast-feeding.
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who → include → baby
Mihai and Lisbet are understandably distraught and outraged to have their children essentially kidnapped from them, based on a little evidence.
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children → outrage → evidence
Mihai, in particular, suspects they are being persecuted for their religious beliefs.
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they → suspect → beliefs
In the civil trial that follows, it does certainly seem that a key strategy of the prosecution is to highlight Mihai’s conservatism.
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strategy → follow → conservatism
At one point, Mihai is asked by the opposing lawyer to define “traditional family.”
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Mihai → ask → family
“A man and a woman,” Mihai replies.
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Mihai → reply → ?
The lawyer presses: Does Mihai believe in traditional families should be a marriage between only man and a woman?
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Mihai → press → man
Mihai replies with a question of his own: Is it a crime for him to believe that?
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him → reply → that
No, it’s not a crime, Mihai.
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it → ’ → ?
But it is tough for Stan stans—who love him as the sardonic, loyal, and kind-hearted BFF of Steve Rogers in the MCU Captain America franchise—to watch him a play character so blatantly homophobic.
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who → love → character
(If the “man and a woman” line isn’t enough evidence for you, know that Mihai’s youngest daughter tells another girl at school she’s going to Hell for being a lesbian—a belief she surely picked up from her father.)
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she → know → father
Was it not bad enough that loyal fans had to watch Stan play a young Donald Trump in The Apprentice last year?
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Stan → have → Apprentice
Don’t get it twisted: Stan gives a phenomonal performance in Fjord.
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Stan → get → Fjord
It’s a complete transformation, and not just because he shaved the top of his head, grew a beard, and put on a pair of glasses.
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he → ’ → glasses
The hair and costuming go a long way, sure.
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hair → go → ?
But it’s in the way Stan carries himself—his quiet, controlled anger; his careful movements—that make him virtually unrecognizable.
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him → ’ → himself
Hey, sometimes, being a great actor mean playing a character who couldn’t be further from who you are in real life.
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you → mean → life
Fjord does it’s best to avoid passing judgement on Mihai’s way of life, so perhaps audiences ought to, too.
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audiences → do → life
And we can take comfort knowing that Bucky would absolutely destroy Mihai in a fight.
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Bucky → take → fight
The Aporia
