Its the laugh that gets you.
Roughly halfway throughArmand,the debut feature from Norwegian filmmaker Halfdan Ullmann Tndel, we watch someone fall apart.
A mother has been called into a parent-teacher conference.
Reinate Reinsve in ‘Armand.‘IFC Films
Elisabeth has no idea why shes been summoned to her childs school.
Soon, the parents of another student arrive.
It seems that Armand, the womans son, threatened one of his peers.
Theres also the worry that the youngster made good on this threat as well.
She feels enraged, ambushed, attacked from all sides.
Its a death by a thousand insinuating cuts.
At first, its simply a titter.
Then the manic outbursts of amusement build and build.
Hidden agendas are abound.
Armands behavior may have stemmed from serious problems closer to home.
Slow-zooms into pictures on a school wall will drip with significance.
Someone will indeed run down a hallway in slow-motion.
The climax takes place in a rainstorm thats as impressively staged as it is symbolically heavy-handed.
Tndel comes from a serious filmmaking pedigree; his grandparents areLiv UllmannandIngmar Bergman.
We cant wait to see what Tndels fourth film looks like.
