Sentimental Value (2025) by Joachim Trier: A Wounded Family and the Art of Reconciliation
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Short Summary: A Director's Artful Apology
Sentimental Value is the latest film from acclaimed Norwegian director Joachim Trier, who reunites with his frequent collaborators Renate Reinsve and Anders Danielsen Lie. The film follows two sisters, Nora (Reinsve) and Agnes, as they are forced to confront their estranged, once-renowned film director father, Gustav (Stellan Skarsgård), after their mother's death. Gustav, a man who abandoned his family for his career, returns with a script for a new film—a story he insists is his comeback and has written specifically for his actress daughter Nora. The film is a poignant and often humorous exploration of family, memory, and the power—and limitations—of art to heal deep-seated emotional wounds.
Link IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27714581/
About movie: https://www.neonrated.com/film/sentimental-value
Detailed Summary: The Price of a Past Left Unresolved
The Family Home: The film opens with a voiceover from the family's home itself, describing the memories and tragedies it has witnessed, including the suicide of Gustav's mother. The house, now an empty shell after the death of Nora and Agnes's mother, serves as the central stage for the family drama.
The Estranged Father's Return: The sisters, Nora and Agnes, are forced to deal with their distant father, Gustav, who re-enters their lives after years of absence. Nora, a successful but emotionally volatile stage actress, is still filled with resentment and anger toward him. Agnes, more settled with a husband and child, has found a fragile peace.
An Artistic Proposition: Gustav, believing his comeback will fix his broken family, offers Nora the lead role in his new, semi-autobiographical film. The film is based on his mother's suicide, and he wants to shoot it in the family home. Nora, seeing this as an excuse rather than a genuine apology, immediately refuses.
The Hollywood Actress: When Nora rejects the role, Gustav, in an act of desperation and perhaps ego, casts an American starlet, Rachel Kemp (Elle Fanning), instead. This further complicates the family dynamic, as Rachel's presence forces Nora to confront her own insecurities and the true nature of her father's intentions.
A Journey Towards Understanding: The film's narrative is non-linear and dreamlike, using montages and voiceovers to explore the characters' memories and inner lives. It builds toward a powerful and emotional confrontation between Nora and Gustav, as she finally reads the script and discovers a different side of her father's story, one that he can only express through his art.
Director's Vision: The Value of Affection
Art as a Healing Tool: Joachim Trier's vision for Sentimental Value is a deep dive into the dual nature of art as both a destructive force—when prioritized over family—and a redemptive one. He explores how a character like Gustav, a man incapable of direct emotional communication, can only attempt to reconnect with his daughters through his chosen medium, cinema.
A Continuation of Themes: The film serves as a spiritual companion to Trier's "Oslo Trilogy," particularly The Worst Person in the World, with which it shares themes of finding one's place in the world, the complexities of human relationships, and the search for emotional honesty. He continues his signature blend of wit, melancholy, and cinematic flourishes.
The Power of Performance: Trier's direction focuses on drawing out raw, nuanced performances from his cast. He allows the actors to inhabit their characters with a lived-in complexity, particularly in the difficult relationship between Nora and Gustav.
Themes: The Weight of Memory and the Art of Forgiveness
The House as a Character: The family home is not just a setting; it is a character in its own right, a repository of memories and a witness to generations of family trauma. The film explores the idea that an object or place can hold "sentimental value" beyond its physical worth.
Intergenerational Trauma: The film explores the idea that pain and unresolved conflict can be passed down through generations. The family's history, from Gustav's mother's suicide to his own abandonment of his daughters, echoes through the present and influences Nora's and Agnes's lives.
The Limits of Art: While the film presents art as a powerful tool for reconciliation and self-expression, it also questions its limits. It suggests that art can't fully replace genuine human connection and that some emotional debts can't be paid off with a script.
Reconciliation and Forgiveness: At its core, Sentimental Value is about the difficult, messy, and often incomplete process of reconciliation. It doesn't offer a simple, happy ending but instead suggests that some relationships can be repaired, even if the wounds they carry can never be fully healed.
Key Success Factors: A Masterful Ensemble and Emotional Nuance
The Stellan Skarsgård and Renate Reinsve Duo: The casting of Skarsgård and Reinsve is a major success. Their on-screen dynamic as a father and daughter with a fraught relationship is the heart of the film, and both deliver career-defining performances.
An Unflinching Script: The screenplay by Trier and Eskil Vogt is praised for its ability to balance sharp, often-funny dialogue with devastating emotional truths. It is a mature, insightful look at a family in crisis.
Cinematic Elegance: The film's beautiful cinematography and elegant pacing, which include dream sequences and montages, are signature Trier. The visual style contributes to the film's thoughtful and meditative tone
Awards and Nominations: A Cannes Grand Prix Winner
Sentimental Value had its world premiere at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, where it received a 19-minute standing ovation. It was also awarded the prestigious Grand Prix, one of the festival's highest honors. The film's success at Cannes has solidified its status as one of the most anticipated and acclaimed films of the year.
Critics Reception: A Devastating and Gorgeous Drama
BFI's Sight and Sound: The British Film Institute calls the film "a gorgeous, generous, and gut-wrenching meditation about inherited familial suffering." It praises Trier for grounding his idealism about art within "movingly observed and performed family dynamics."
Variety: Variety describes the film as a "Bergmanesque family drama" and notes that while Renate Reinsve is wonderful, Stellan Skarsgård's performance "steals it."
Rotten Tomatoes: The film currently holds a strong positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics praising it as "poignant, poetic, frequently surprising and quietly devastating."
Overall, critics have lauded Sentimental Value as a triumphant return for Joachim Trier. It's considered a mature, deeply moving, and masterful work that showcases the talents of its director and exceptional cast.
Reviews: A New High Mark for the Norwegian Auteur
Paste Magazine: Paste Magazine calls the film an "unabashedly sentimental" yet "unfailingly genuine" story that will leave audiences both moved and in tears. The review highlights the emotional depth and substance that sets the film apart from other contemporary movies.
The Disapproving Swede: This review, while more critical, still acknowledges the film's artistic merits. It notes that the film is "quite manipulative" and "almost Hollywoodian" but praises the acting as the "best thing about the film."
Filmaffinity: A consensus of critics on Filmaffinity notes that the film is "everything contemporary cinema ought to be" and is "revelatory" in its ability to take a small, recognizable story and make it feel profound.
In summary, reviews have positioned Sentimental Value as a major cinematic event. While there may be a few detractors, the overwhelming consensus is that the film is a powerful and emotional work that solidifies Joachim Trier's place as one of the most important directors working today.
Release date on streaming: Awaiting Announcement
Sentimental Value has not yet announced a streaming release date. MUBI holds the distribution rights for several territories, so a future release on that platform is likely.
Theatrical Release: A Fall Release in North America
The film had a theatrical release in France on August 20, 2025, and is scheduled for a limited theatrical release in North America on November 7, 2025.
Why to recommend this movie: A Deeply Human Story
For Fans of Joachim Trier: If you loved The Worst Person in the World, this film is an absolute must-watch. It builds on the themes and style of his previous work while pushing into new, more emotionally complex territory.
For Exceptional Acting: The ensemble cast, led by the incredible Stellan Skarsgård and Renate Reinsve, delivers some of the best performances of the year. Their chemistry and emotional range are truly breathtaking.
For a Film That Asks Big Questions: The movie grapples with profound and relatable questions about family, legacy, and what we owe the people we love. It's a film that will stay with you long after you've seen it.
For a Beautiful Cinematic Experience: With its stunning cinematography and dreamlike narrative, the film is a feast for the eyes and a testament to the power of artistic storytelling.
Movie Trend: The Return of the Character-Driven Drama
In an age of big-budget franchises and genre films, Sentimental Value is a part of a vital trend of films that prioritize character and emotional honesty over spectacle. It's a throwback to the classic European character study, proving that a story about a few people talking in a house can be just as compelling, if not more so, than a superhero blockbuster.
Social Trend: The Complexities of the Modern Family
The film reflects a social trend that acknowledges the increasing complexities and non-traditional structures of modern families. It moves beyond the nuclear family model to explore the nuances of estranged relationships, step-families, and the ways in which family ties can be both a source of deep pain and profound love.
Final Verdict: A Masterpiece of Reconciliation
Sentimental Value is a film of immense power and profound beauty. Joachim Trier and his cast have created a work that is both an honest reflection of human brokenness and a hopeful meditation on the possibility of healing. It's a gorgeous and gut-wrenching film that is destined to be a modern classic and a testament to the enduring power of family, memory, and the art that attempts to capture them.
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