Armand

2024 [NORWEGIAN]

Drama

11
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Certified Fresh 73% · 79 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 72% · 100 ratings
IMDb Rating 6.1/10 10 4398 4.4K

obsession redemption elementary school conflict psychological thriller multiple perspectives

720p.BLU 1080p.BLU
1.05 GB
1280*690
Norwegian 2.0
R
Subtitles us  
24 fps
1 hr 57 min
Seeds 12
2.17 GB
1920*1036
Norwegian 5.1
R
Subtitles us  
24 fps
1 hr 57 min
Seeds 21

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by fredrikgunerius 7 / 10

Ullman Tønder has a strong artistic expression

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.
Reviewed by insightflow-20603 5 / 10

Dead children

Armand and the other boy, the centre of the story here, are absent. They are rendered psychologically dead by psychologically dead - or insane - parents.What began as a gritty drama, turned out to be psychological horror. I suppose the Scandinavians are good at living the unconscious, manifesting the darkness. A bleeding nose in one of the characters signals early on that we are to spiral down, nauseated, into the madness of all the "adults". The feeling of vertigo is subtle and perhaps more terrifying than Hitchock in its normalised elusiveness. Empty corridors, staircases, and silent screams. A children's choir where children are voiceless. Two mothers who couldn't be more repulsive. Where does evil begin? "If you look at our image, you'll see only chaos. If you dig deeper, you'll find nothing else."
Reviewed by peter0969 5 / 10

Artistic and ambitious, but it leaves an underwhelming experience

From the grandson of Ingmar German and Liv Ullman, Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel has a debut that shows good potential but despite it's ambitious concept and strong moments, it fails to fully hold it's narrative and goes through a limbo.The psychological drama and themes explored of school system and the battle of wits between people is a good concept, especially not knowing much from the European standpoint. With good camerawork and sound designs, it helps to create the claustrophobic setting and tensions. The performances from the cast, especially Renate Reinsve was great and felt realistic. Unfortunately, what makes the movie not work is the way the narrative is written and how bumpy it feels.Many of the writing components have good concepts but it's surrealist approach didn't work, which ends up feeling repetitive and muddled as it continues. Making things a bit difficult to really understand or connect with the characters or finding them believable at times. Stories like these are movies I like but I can't really engage with it because of the muddled writing and repetitive nature. The direction from Tøndel is good but at some moments, the direction felt a bit misplaced and lost. Being heavy dialogue, the dialogue is a mix of both good and some not so good.At it's core, Tøndel has a lot of talent as this movie does show his talents and potential of being a good filmmaker in the future. But there's a lot of work still to be done.
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