Armand (2024)

	Directed by: Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel	INTERNATIONAL TITLE Armand COUNTRY Norway/Netherlands/ Germany/Sweden GENRE Drama/Thriller RUNNING TIME 117 minutes
	Produced by: Andrea Berensen Ottmar
	Written by: Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Elizabeth	Renate Reinsve
Sarah	Ellen Dorrit Petersen	½
Anders	Endre Hellestveit	½
Sunna	Thea Lambrechts Vaulen	½
Jarle	Øystein Røger	½
Ajsa	Vera Veljovic	½

Review

The debut feature film of Halfdan Ullman Tønder, grandson of Ingmar Bergman and Liv Ullman, is a partly allegorical, partly naturalistic dissection of 21st century parenting and educational system, and their handling of an “unfortunate incident” between two 6-year-old boys. Renate Reinsve is the eccentric mother of Armand, the alleged perpetrator in said incident, and as she finds herself scrutinized by her son’s teacher, the school administration and the parents of the other boy, the film slowly descends into an interrelational abyss – a limbo from which no good things can ever emerge. Ullman Tønder’s purpose and position are strong, and so is his artistic expression, which is discernibly inspired by the works of his grandfather, and perhaps also to a degree by Kubrick. And although the narrative as such at times feels bumpy and the film unevenly edited, Armand is in many ways a return and homage to pure cinema, for which it should be hailed.