Sentimental Value

I’ll start by saying I’m not familiar with Joachim Trier’s work. His previous film, The Worst Person in the World, has been on my watch list for some time but hasn’t made it onto our TV just yet. I missed it when it first hit theaters, and if not for the tremendous awards-season showing for this early fall indie (which flew under the radar for me), it’s likely I would have missed Sentimental Value as well.

Alas, distributor Neon is wisely keeping rental prices high for this November 2025 release (a whopping $19.99, and hey, that’s still cheaper than a couple of tickets at the theater, so fine by me. We opted to just buy it at $24.99). I’m sure that strategy is now driving significant VOD revenue, especially with the better-than-expected Oscar nomination showing and the growing sentiment that Stellan is the new favorite for a Best Supporting Actor win.

Like many recent indie awards contenders, I went into this pretty much blind. I really only knew the cast, that it had awards acclaim, and that it would be largely in Norwegian with some English-language sequences (indicated by Elle Fanning’s presence).

What I did not know going in is that this is a film about filmmaking told through the lens of a strained father-daughter relationship and the family’s connection to their longtime home. We cover quite a bit of family history here, including details spanning several generations. At its core is a dysfunctional father’s filmmaking and his poorly executed attempts to repair his broken relationship with his daughters.

If you don’t find yourself connecting with this story as you’re watching, I can relate. I found Trier’s naturalistic, often observational style to be a bit dry and, at times, pretentious. Some of the artistic interludes felt unnecessary and as though they were driving home story elements that were already well established. That said, he has written several very real characters who bounce off each other beautifully. This gives the skilled actors excellent, meaty material to work with, and the acting nominations are generally deserved. All of the performances here are excellent.

The one surprise nomination for me after watching was Elle Fanning, who certainly plays a critical part but doesn’t have nearly the heft of the material. For me, her standout performance last year was in the shockingly fun Predator: Badlands.

Renate Reinsve, who plays the central character Nora Borg, is quickly becoming one of the most sought-after actresses in Hollywood. After acclaim in Trier’s previous film, The Worst Person in the World (2021), she scored a major role in the Apple TV series Presumed Innocent for American audiences. She now has several upcoming films in progress for U.S. audiences, including the next film by Joe Talbot, who directed the exceptional The Last Black Man in San Francisco, as well as the latest from Alexander Payne. Relative newcomer Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, with few credits to her name, is phenomenal as the sister, Agnes. And of course, Stellan Skarsgård, who plays fictional filmmaker Gustav Borg, father of Nora and Agnes, is excellent as always. He balances a fairly complex mix of a father trying to make amends with his daughters while also attempting to get a passion project off the ground.

Overall, I understand why awards voters have loved this movie and heaped praise on it. Was it one of my favorites of 2025? It’s very good, but for me, it feels like it’s getting more praise for being an original and intimate take on the “films about filmmaking” genre than for the sheer strength of the material itself. Where Jay Kelly may have been original mainly in George Clooney’s willingness to be self-deprecating, Sentimental Value genuinely treads new ground and focuses far more on family relationships than on industry connections. (That industry element matters in Jay Kelly, but the central relationship there is really between Kelly and his manager, not his daughters.) This focus grounds Value and gives it a tenderness that many other industry-centered films have not been able to achieve.

Worth a watch — just go in with modest expectations. 7.5/10.