The titular “Armand” of Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel’s directorial debut is almost never seen, though he looms large in the drama that unfolds in a sprawling elementary school over the course of an afternoon. His name is uttered like a prayer as his mother, Elisabeth (Renate Reinsve), speeds toward her son’s school, summoned for an emergency meeting with the administration and the parents of another student.

The incident that occasions the meeting provides the fulcrum of the drama in “Armand,” but it’s never seen, only discussed, in indirect, roundabout ways by the teachers, bluntly by the parents. It is also the entry point to a messy interpersonal conflict that spills out from the classroom and involves decades of family history, which the screenplay slowly parcels out in agonizing, tantalizing drips of information, coloring this portrait. The resulting image, however, is a frustratingly muddled watercolor.

Tøndel is the grandson of legendary Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman and Norwegian actor Liv Ullmann; it’s a heavy familial burden to bear for a filmmaker, but that doesn’t stop Tøndel from embracing daring ideas in his debut, in which he tackles a provocative subject with a fascinatingly surrealist approach to symbolism and subjectivity.

Then again, it’s the restrained moments of “Armand” in which the film truly shines, the mysterious trickle of narrative information combined with a powerhouse performance from Reinsve, who goes toe-to-toe with Ellen Dorrit Petersen as Sarah, the mother of Thomas, the child involved in the incident with Armand. Elisabeth, a famous actor, arrives at the school in stilettos and glam, stalking the halls with her tall, athletic frame and imposing energy utterly steamrolling Sunna (Thea Lambrechts Vaulen), the timid teacher who has been tasked with achieving parental diplomacy during this tense meeting.

At times, “Armand” is almost a Scandinavian comedy of manners, as Sunna, the school principal (Øystein Røger) and the school nurse (Vera Veljovic- Jovanovic), deliver a darkly comic lesson on how not to run a meeting such as this, with vague suggestions for repair, a disastrous unwillingness to escalate and a nosebleed that won’t stop gushing. A non-Scandinavian audience member might wonder if the film is an indictment of passive cultural norms, or simply a depiction of them; at any rate, Elisabeth’s behavior during the proceedings is unusual, from an uncontrollable laughing fit to a fantastical modern dance she performs in a hallway.

It’s Tøndel’s directorial choices that elevate “Armand,” and also hinder it; he could edit some of the more outré ideas that he plays with. But the cinematography by Pål Ulvik Rokseth is spectacular, using natural light in the school, largely emptied for summer break, the camera imbued with a curious mind of its own. Tøndel empowers the camera to follow characters down hallways and peek around corners, finding an eavesdropper.

But there’s also the nagging feeling that Tøndel doesn’t have the firmest grasp on his own material. The surrealist experiments are not entirely successful, and a rug-pulling twist lands the overall message of the film in uncomfortably murky waters, especially when considering how victims of violence are treated.

The unpredictable nature of this thought- provoking tale and its unusual execution is laudable for its originality, but the end of “Armand” troubles its strong start, with the sense that Tøndel’s assured direction at the outset has slipped, resulting in a questionable conclusion.

In Norwegian with English subtitles

MPA rating: R (for some language and sexual material)

Running time: 1:57

How to watch: In theaters