10/17
Armand, a 6-year-old boy, is accused of crossing boundaries with his best friend in elementary school. Norway’s official submission for the “Best International Feature Film” category at the 97th Academy Awards in 2025. The debut feature by Halfdan Ullman TΓΈnder, grandson of Ingmar Bergman and Liv Ullman, is a partly allegorical, partly naturalistic dissection of 21st-century parenting and the education system, and its handling of an “unfortunate incident” between two 6-year-old boys. Renate Reinsve is the eccentric mother of Armand, the alleged perpetrator of the incident, and as she finds herself scrutinized by her son’s teacher, the school administration, and the other boy’s parents, the film slowly descends into an interrelational abyss – a limbo from which nothing good can emerge. Ullman TΓΈnderβs purpose and position are strong, as is his artistic expression, which is clearly inspired by the works of his grandfather, and perhaps also to a degree by Kubrick. And although the narrative as such sometimes feels uneven and the film unevenly edited, Armand is in many ways a return to and homage to pure cinema, for which he should be applauded.