CANNES: You are no doubt familiar with the work of Renate Reinsve. The Norwegian actress earned accolades for her performance in Joachim Trier’s stellar “The Worst Person in the World,” and if you happened to attend the 2024 Sundance Film Festival this past January, you may have seen her in Aaron Schimberg’s lauded “A Different Man.” Reinsive has already proven her prowess as an actress, but there is a scene in her latest endeavor, “Armand,” which, and excuse the justified hyperbole, is simply startling. It is a seven-minute moment where Reinsve completely commands the screen in the most unexpected and captivating manner. It will provoke and startle you in the best way possible. And for that alone, it makes Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel’s feature film debut an absolute must-see.
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A world premiere at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, “Armand” begins somewhat innocently. A young elementary school teacher, Sunny (Thea Lambrechts Vaulen), is being briefed by her superiors on her upcoming parental conference following an incident between two of her students. The defacto school principal, Jarle (Øystein Røger), wants to downplay the incident as much as possible while his colleague, Ajsa (Vera Veljovic), has thoughts and an action plan for the parents that keep getting interrupted by a pesky bloody nose.
With her car speeding across the countryside, Elizabeth shows up at the school like a late afternoon summer thunderstorm. Armand’s mother throws her gigantic hoop earrings off in her car and enters in a delicious burgundy raincoat ready for a Paris runway over a blouse that teases her lingerie halter top. Sunny can hear her boots stomping down the hallway as she enters class. Oh yes, she knows how to make an entrance. Jon’s parents, Sarah (Ellen Dorrit Petersen) and Anders (Endre Hellestveit), arrive late. And, as Sunny begins to explain the incident, it soon becomes clear that Sarah won’t be able to help but make subtly snide remarks about Elizabeth. We soon discover Armand’s mother is a public figure, a well-known actress, and has something of a reputation, although maybe that’s just local gossip. Maybe it isn’t.
It’s also immediately clear that things are chilly between Elizabeth and Sarah, and as the film progresses more and more is revealed as to why. There are complex social dynamics at play between the trio as well as Elizabeth’s recently departed husband, who just happened to be Sarah’s brother. As for the event between the boys, it begins with Jon being found in the restroom with a cut on his face and his pants pulled down to the ground. He says Armand, who, in theory, is his friend, did this to him. Since there were no witnesses, the school cannot say what actually occurred. When Jon arrived home, his story changed somewhat and took a more disturbing turn. The audience is immediately left to wonder: Is it simply a game between two buddies playing around that got out of hand? Or did Armand do something that is simply unfathomable for a 6-year-old boy?
As Elizabeth tries to digest the accusation regarding her son, the tension rises between both her and Sarah. Slowly but surely, what should have been a civil conversation between parents and an educator devolves into something much more combative. The pressure is ratcheted up a notch when, much to Sunny’s dismay, Jarle mistakenly decides to interject himself and Ajsa into the matter. Over a few hours, an incident that should be handled within the confines of the school threatens to escalate into a matter for child welfare and, of all people, the police.
Inspired by a real event, Tøndel’s screenplay juggles the myopic vision of Sarah’s moral superiority with her husband’s more sympathetic perspective and a school educator somehow stuck in the past. Things get more complicated when Sunny mistakenly mentions the incident to a fellow teacher, who can’t help but spill the details to his colleagues. As Sunny’s peers debate whether to inform their own student’s parents and whether Armand should even be allowed to remain at the school, Elizabeth is doing her best to avoid spiraling out of control.
Considering the entire film takes place in the confines of the school building, it’s a testament to Tøndel’s direction and Reinsve’s enthralling performance that the film avoids feeling claustrophobic. That being said, a number of the character motivations don’t entirely land, and there is a creative choice in the final act that, despite its impressive execution, probably distracts more than adds anything truly artistic to the proceedings. The film also has the unfortunate luck of arriving a little over a year following İlker Çatak’s “The Teacher’s Lounge.” That German-language drama tackles decidedly narrative themes but feels somewhat familiar in its execution. But perhaps those are minor quibbles considering Reinsve’s exquisite performance. She’s so good you simply want to see her in everything. Just wow. [B]