20/05/2024 - CANNES 2024: Norwegian newcomer Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel serves up a succulent piece of Nordic toxicity, starring Ellen Dorrit Petersen and Renate Reinsve

l-r: Thea Lambrechts Vaulen, Renate Reinsve, Øystein Røger and Vera Veljovic in Armand

After two promising shorts and a stint as Joachim Trier’s assistant director, Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel now presents his debut feature, Armand [+see also:
trailer
interview: Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel
film profile], in the Un Certain Regard section of the 77th Cannes International Film Festival. The solid cast includes praised actresses Ellen Dorrit Petersen (Blind [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Eskil Vogt
interview: Eskil Vogt
film profile]) and Renate Reinsve (The Worst Person in the World [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Joachim Trier
film profile]).

As for the director himself, few emerging filmmakers should be blessed/burdened with the expectations surrounding this 34-year-old Norwegian Wunderkind, by way of pedigree. His grandmother Liv Ullmann has racked up eight decades’ worth of epoch-making acting, writing and directing; his grandfather Ingmar Bergman’s name is more or less synonymous with absolute cinema history; his mother, Linn Ullmann, is an accomplished novelist, multi-awarded and -translated. Perhaps this is why Armand more often than not feels so effortlessly executed and also, although dealing with a universal theme (also explored in Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Monster last year), so very Nordic in feel and look.

At the centre of it are two boys, involved in a recent school incident where overly adult phrases of a crude, sexual nature are said to have been uttered. A parents’ meeting is arranged, positioning the single mother of Armand, Elisabeth (Reinsve), on one side, and Sarah and Anders (Petersen and Endre Hellestve), the parents of the allegedly abused Jon, on the other. Also at the table are teacher Sunna (Thea Lambrechts Vaulen) and school nurse Asja (Vera Veljovic). The meeting gets off to a bad start: the young Sunna gets nervous and flubs her prepared statements, while the more resourceful Asja suffers occasional nosebleeds, literally tarnishing her authority. Elisabeth breaks down in uncontrollable giggles, Sarah gets increasingly resentful, and Anders feels gradually uneasy, not least regarding some conflicting testimonies from his wife on Jon’s condition. At least initially, the headmaster, Jarle (distinguished stage doyen Øysten Røger), roams the corridors, hoping the problem gets solved in his absence, which is his preferred strategy for any matter of conflict.

The first half of Armand plays out as skilfully as they come, recalling both the aesthetic stringency of Dag Johan Haugerud’s marvellous Beware of Children [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Dag Johan Haugerud
film profile] and any outrageous antic ever devised by Ruben Östlund (brought to mind with flying colours in that giggle scene). The acting is uniformly impeccable, and the visuals and sound are filled with refined details, from the rattling of Elisabeth’s earrings and the reoccurring ringing of a faulty fire alarm to an eerie red kids’ overall hanging on a corridor coat hanger (shades of Argento?). Ah, such succulent toxicity, thick enough to be cut by a knife and savoured by the senses.

The second half decides to escape from its claustrophobic chamber-play premise, with sudden outbursts of music and dancing being conspicuous cases in point – a move that will puzzle some viewers. Ample plot time is spent on the unveiling of a back-story involving Sarah’s deceased brother Thomas, once married to Elisabeth, which at times takes us out of the groove. That said, some of the best moments of any Cannes 2024 entry are surely to be found in Armand. Both Grandma Liv and Grandpa Ingmar would heartily approve.

Armand is a Norwegian-Dutch-German-Swedish co-production staged by Eye Eye Pictures, and co-produced by Keplerfilm, Prolaps, One Two Films, Zefyr and Film i Väst. Its sales are overseen by Charades.