Scandinavian cinema has long possessed a unique talent for examining the intricate, often fraught dynamics of close relationships. From the long, dark winters emerges a penetrating gaze turned inward on the family unit. The latest to continue this rich tradition is Sentimental Value, a sensitive and intricately constructed new drama from acclaimed director Joachim Trier.
A House Full of Memories and Tension
The film opens on a storied wooden family home, a silent repository of generations of joy and sorrow. This is where sisters Nora and Agnes have returned following the death of their mother. Nora, played by the magnetic Renate Reinsve, is a successful stage actor, while Agnes (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas) is a researcher with a young family.
The quiet of the old mansion is shattered by the gathering of mourners, and further disrupted by the arrival of their father, Gustav Borg. Portrayed by a never-better Stellan Skarsgård, Gustav skipped the church service but made it to the wake. His casual reappearance, after a long absence living in Sweden, immediately sets the emotional stakes. Agnes manages a difficult reunion, but Nora maintains a hostile distance, leaving the central question hanging: can this father and daughter ever truly reconcile?
Art, Life, and an Unrepentant Father
Gustav is unrepentant and charmingly irrepressible, even as he contends with health issues and a directing career that seems past its prime. Or is it? He has found renewed creative vigour in a new project—a drama inspired by the lives of the women in his own family. He wants Nora for the lead role, but she refuses the offer outright.
This rejection sends Gustav's project on a new path. At a film festival retrospective of his work in France, he encounters a young American actress, Rachel (Elle Fanning), a sweet admirer of his films, and offers her the starring role instead. This decision adds another layer of complexity to the already strained family bonds, blurring the lines between art and personal history.
Trier's Breezy Mastery and Cinematic Meditation
From Nora's charged moments of stage fright to the film's gentle conclusion, Sentimental Value renders its complex portrait with deft, masterful brushstrokes. Trier, co-writer Eskil Vogt, and editor Olivier Bugge Coutté hold all the elements in thrilling balance. The film moves with swift, dramatic transitions, punctuated by moments of quiet contemplation and dreamy, wide shots drinking in beautiful locations from Norway to Deauville, France.
True to Trier's style, the film tells a serious story with a distinctively breezy touch. This extends to a clever strand within the narrative that meditates on cinema itself and its future in an age of streaming platforms. It's a fitting theme from a director who grew up in a family of filmmakers and who once shot skateboarding films in his youth.
Sentimental Value marks a compelling reunion for Trier and Reinsve, who previously collaborated on the celebrated The Worst Person in the World. Like that film, this new work pairs a playful title with profound emotional depth and terrific central performances. It is a film that understands value is deeply personal—what is a treasured memory to one person may be mere clutter to another, much like the ugly red glass vase Nora retrieves while clearing out the family home. Ultimately, meaning is precisely where you find it.
