Sentimental Value
Synopsis
Gustav (played magnificently by Stellan Skarsgård) has abandoned his family years ago to make films. Now his wife has died and he has come back to his family home for the funeral to find his two daughters want nothing to do with him. How does he try to make amends? By offering his eldest daughter the role of his own mother in his latest autobiographical film, which she turns down flat. Not to be beaten, he gives the role to an American actress, cue much anger and resentment, especially when it turns out he intends to make the movie in their house.
"Sentimental Value is about regret and trauma and the things left unsaid. It also asks some pointed questions about art: Gustav is a great filmmaker. And Nora is a great actress. Was the collateral damage of their hopelessly fractured relationship worth it? And is there a way they can learn to communicate, if not directly, perhaps through their art?...Trier, who has two young daughters himself, directs the whole affair with beauty and pathos and wit" - Max Weiss, New York Magazine
Critics
“A fantastic showcase for Renate Reinsve and Stellan Skarsgård, and another strong piece from director Joachim Trier, this is a moving drama that lingers long.”
“Sentimental Value is a thoughtful and moving exploration of the long tail of family dynamics.”
“Trier’s film overflows with the kind of genuinely impactful potential that we go to the movies for, the type that leaves us feeling understood more than it makes us feel good.”
“Though it’s only two hours and 13 minutes long, Sentimental Value packs a whole novel’s worth of emotional texture and telling visual detail into that run time.”
“It’s hardly a guilty pleasure movie, though its sheer pleasantness comes with a certain pang of conscience: should cinema this intelligent be this much fun to watch?”
“A layered masterpiece that "The Worst Person in the World" director Joachim Trier has been working toward for his entire career.”