PORTRAIT
OF A CONFUSED FATHER
An extraordinary father-son story, filmed over 20 years, takes an unexpected and tragic turn in Portrait of a Confused Father, offering a deeply personal (self-)portrait of renowned Norwegian documentary filmmaker Gunnar Hall Jensen. With his signature ability to explore life’s big questions—always with a quirky yet forgiving perspective on our shared human tendency to stumble while trying our best—he now faces his greatest challenge yet.
For over two decades, Gunnar has filmed his son Jonathan’s journey from childhood to adulthood, capturing his drive to conquer the world. But as Jonathan grows older, so does the distance between them. Gunnar does what he knows best to stay connected—he films, he talks, and he tries to understand.
However, when Jonathan is drawn into a world of social media influencers, promises of easy success, and hyper-masculine ideals, reality begins to slip away. Everything culminates when Gunnar receives the phone call every parent dreads most.
Portrait of a Confused Father is a raw and heartbreaking story about love, loss, and a father’s desperate struggle to reach his son—and himself. It’s a film about losing control, but also about never giving up hope.
