39/19
Armand, a 6-year-old boy, is accused of overstepping his bounds against his best friend in elementary school. Norway’s official submission to the 97th Academy Awards in 2025 in the Best International Feature Film category. The film is a partly allegorical, partly naturalistic dissection of the 21st-century system of child rearing and education. The film follows the story of two 6-year-olds and their behavior in the wake of an “accident” between two 6-year-olds. Renate Reinsvæ is the eccentric mother of Armand, the alleged perpetrator of the incident, and watched by her son’s teacher, the school administration, and the parents of the other child, the film gradually descends into an abyss of interpersonal relationships from which nothing good can ever emerge. Ullman Tønder’s purpose and stance are strong, as is his artistic expression, which is clearly inspired by the work of his grandfather, and perhaps even Kubrick. And while the narrative itself sometimes feels disjointed and the film is unevenly edited, Armand is in many ways a return and homage to pure cinema, for which it should be congratulated.