Valeur sentimentale

Sentimental Values has been praised left and right as a masterpiece, but for me it lands more in the category of "good, but not great." It's beautifully made, with a strong pace, a well-crafted script and strong acting, giving the story authenticity and emotional weight from beginning to end.

One thing I really appreciated is that the film never feels over-explanatory. It trusts the audience to think, to connect what was said earlier with what's happening later, and to piece things together on their own. That kind of narrative confidence is rare, and it makes the film feel smart without being showy.

The film is also filled with references. Some subtle, some more obvious, that adds an extra layer for those who like to dissect details. It rewards attentive viewers, though at times it felt like the references were more about signaling cleverness than adding actual value to the story.

And yet, when it was over, I wasn't left with much. Despite having a personal connection to the father-child themes it explores, it didn't resonate with me in the way I expected. The structure is clever, the craft is solid, the references are plentiful, but the emotional impact fell short for me.

In the end, Sentimental Values is a finely built film with a lot of strengths, and it's certainly worth watching. But calling it a masterpiece feels like overselling it, at least from where I'm sitting.

Sentimental Value is a beautiful movie. It has a very sharp screenplay and great direction. The cast here is all phenomenal and they help to elevate these characters to an even higher level. The movie has tons of emotion while keeping an engaging story throughout its runtime. There are multiple scenes that feature some really cool editing. The editing helps to reveal things a couple of times and I think that's really awesome. A very good family drama. 8/10.

I felt this needed a review so i made an user. First timer here. Usually dont go to cinema. Watched «verdens verste menneske». Loved it. Sentimental value is more personal. I think its impossible not to Get affected in some way Even though you had a great upbringing( i had). Kinda slow in the beginning but builds up. Centers around the father to daughter relationship. I didnt go into this watching reviews. . The director said before the movie «i hope you feel something». This is a hit or miss movie. This is a hit It delivers in the end. We live in such a shallow world. This offers depth. I Even cried.

Sentimental Value reflects Joachim Trier's Norwegian cultural environment while exploring the psychology of generational trauma. With nuance and compassion, the film shows how parents' choices reverberate through their children's lives, shaping identity and memory. Trier suggests that reconciliation across generations, though fragile, is possible. I found this movie both profound and tender. It triggered long conversations with my wife about our own lives and efforts to raise our children in a supportive and loving environment through both happy and challenging times.

:::Watched at Scandinavian Film Festival:::

Joachim Trier's Sentimental Value is a deeply resonant family drama that eschews melodrama for emotional authenticity and psychological nuance. The film is centred on Nora, played with great restraint by Renate Reinsve, who is forced to confront her estranged filmmaker father, Gustav (Stellan Skarsgård), after the death of her mother. The family home in Oslo emerges as both setting and symbol-a container for memories and scars-which Gustav hopes to immortalise through his latest cinematic project.

Trier handles the motif of inherited trauma with tact, refusing to indulge in manipulative sentimentality. Instead, the narrative unfolds gently, through carefully observed interactions and silences. Nora, a stage actress paralysed by anxiety and divided loyalties, is caught between the burdens of family history and the demands of performance. Reinsve imbues her character with a delicate sense of unease that never spills over into theatrics, while Skarsgård navigates Gustav's arrogance and regret with a similarly subtle touch. The supporting cast, specifically Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas as Nora's sister Agnes, adds depth to the film's meditation on the countless ways familial love and resentment can coexist.

The script delicately questions the ethics of artistic catharsis, as Gustav asks Nora to recreate painful family events on camera-prompting sharp consideration of the cost of using real trauma for art. Elle Fanning, as an eager Hollywood star parachuted into the family's drama, serves as both mirror and foil to Nora, further sharpening the film's self-examination of performance, legacy, and authenticity.

Visually, Sentimental Value is quietly gorgeous, its crystalline light and carefully composed frames echoing the story's sense of longing and the weight of the past. Trier's refined direction and restrained musical choices allow every emotional beat to register fully.

What endures is the film's generosity and honesty. It does not force reconciliation but gently suggests that understanding alone could be redemptive. Sentimental Value is demanding, reflective, and full of love for flawed people, confirming Trier as one of the most perceptive filmmakers working today.