‘Sentimental Value’ – Review
When it comes to the contemporary tastemakers shaping modern cinema, Norwegian filmmaker Joachim Trier stands as one of the medium’s most distinctive and compelling voices. With each new project, Trier continues to captivate audiences through works that thoughtfully explore memory, place, emotion, and personal context.
Following his triumphant The Worst Person in the World, he returns with another deeply emotive and richly complex dramatic offering in Sentimental Value; a film that examines the interdimensional layers of one family’s fractured emotional history while simultaneously reflecting on the art of filmmaking itself. The result is a work that presses itself intimately against the audience, emerging as one of the most rewarding and resonant cinematic experiences of the year.
Sisters Nora (Renate Reinsve) and Agnes (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas) reunite with their estranged father, the charismatic Gustav Borg (Stellan Skarsgård), a once renowned director. When Nora turns down a role in what he hopes will be his comeback film, she soon discovers he has given her part to an eager young Hollywood star (Elle Fanning). Suddenly, the two sisters must navigate their complicated relationship with their father and deal with an American star dropped right into the middle of their complex family dynamics.
Encountering a Joachim Trier film is to willingly step into a landscape of emotional complexity and lyrical storytelling. After casting a spell on audiences worldwide with The Worst Person in the World, Trier once again takes the director’s chair with a film that speaks in quiet tones but leaves a profound impact. Sentimental Value is imbued with soft lyricism, restrained emotion, and deeply felt expression — qualities that have earned it widespread acclaim, including the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival. The recognition is thoroughly deserved.
Trier’s remarkable ability to balance visual storytelling with intricate character journeys is on full display here. Sentimental Value centres on the Borg family, a sparse, emotionally complex clan of performers, artists, and creatives, who are forced to confront unresolved histories following a tragic event. As past decisions resurface in the present, the family must reckon with wounds long left unattended. This is a film you don’t simply watch; you feel it. Reserved and meditative, it lingers in the mind, its emotional weight unfolding gradually as its narrative progresses. Trier pulls no punches in exploring both the subtle and explosive dynamics of this broken family, leading to a conclusion that leaves audiences deeply moved and emotionally saturated.
One of the great pleasures of Sentimental Value is seeing Trier reunite with Renate Reinsve following their celebrated collaboration on The Worst Person in the World. Their creative partnership reaches new heights here. Reinsve delivers a stunning performance as actress Nora Borg, a woman grappling with abandonment, unresolved grief, and the emotional fallout of her father Gustav’s absence during her childhood. Reinsve approaches the role with extraordinary sensitivity and control, navigating Nora’s layers of pain, anger, and vulnerability with remarkable precision. It’s a performance that offers audiences a deeply empathetic and affecting emotional journey.
Equally deserving of praise is Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas as Nora’s sister, Agnes. Where Nora’s emotions erupt outwardly, Agnes is defined by restraint, her pain buried beneath a composed exterior. Lilleaas delivers a quietly devastating performance, and the contrast between the sisters gives rise to some of the film’s most powerful moments. With Nora, the drama lies in what is revealed; with Agnes, it’s in what remains unspoken. Their shared reckoning with their father’s sudden reappearance adds further tension, complexity, and authenticity to their relationship.
Rounding out the Borg family is Stellan Skarsgård as Gustav Borg, a once-celebrated filmmaker now in the twilight of his life, yearning for one final creative resurgence. Gustav is neither a reliable patriarch nor a welcomed father figure, and Skarsgård masterfully embodies the contradictions of this deeply flawed man. Equal parts infuriating, perplexing, and unexpectedly tender, Gustav undergoes a nuanced evolution that keeps audiences emotionally engaged throughout. Skarsgård’s performance adds immense gravity and unpredictability to the film.
Adding another fascinating layer is the introduction of Rachel Kemp, a famous American actress seeking greater artistic fulfilment, portrayed by Elle Fanning. Drawn to Gustav’s work after an emotional response to one of his films, Kemp’s presence offers a meta-commentary on performance, projection, and artistic longing. Fanning’s portrayal, an actress playing an actress standing in for memory and myth, is an intriguing and thoughtful turn that further enriches the film’s thematic depth.
Visually, Sentimental Value is a striking and immersive experience, shot with a crispness that invites viewers to lean in and engage fully with its imagery. This is a film made for cinephiles; one that celebrates cinema while simultaneously interrogating our relationship with it. Trier weaves together family trauma and the filmmaking process so seamlessly that the two become inseparable, resulting in a deeply layered and intellectually stimulating work.
For audiences seeking cinema of genuine depth and emotional intelligence, Sentimental Value delivers wholeheartedly. It’s a film of rare sensitivity and insight, offering an experience that lingers long after the final frame, a quietly extraordinary achievement from one of modern cinema’s most vital voices.
Image: MadMen Films
