Sentimental Value (Joachim Trier, 2025, Norway/Germany/Denmark/France/Sweden/UK/Turkey)

Sentimental Value is Joachim Trier’s latest film, following his universally critically lauded The Worst Person in the World. The film reunites him with Worst Person star Renate Reinsve, as well as an international cast including the Swedish Stellan Skarsgard and American Elle Fanning. The film is an examination of trauma that is passed down from generation to generation, as well as the way that the places we live impact us. The film opens on a house, accompanied by a beautiful song from 70s folk-soul singer Terry Callier (the music in Sentimental Value is on point, as with all of Trier’s films), which will become one of the key characters in the film.

Owing a great deal to Ingmar Bergman, the film at its core is a family drama about Gustav (Stellan Skarsgard), who reunites with his estranged daughters Nora (Reinsve) and Agnes (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas). Nora is a stage actress who is having an affair with her colleague Jakub. Agnes works as a historian. Gustav is trying to get financing for his latest film, and American actress Rachel Kemp (Elle Fanning) becomes his muse. They met at the Deauville American Film Festival. This is where the film becomes very meta and certainly touches on Trier’s own experiences, as Netflix becomes involved when Kemp signs onboard, but they begin exercising control over the project.

Meanwhile, Agnes and Nora uncover stories about the trauma their grandmother endured during WWII, which in turn was passed on through Gustav. This reconciliation with the past forms the central emotional arc of the film. Trier has captured a great blend between the arthouse film and a more appealing drama, much in the same way that Bergman was able to do. Sentimental Value is perhaps not as strong as Worst Person, but it is nonetheless a strong addition to his filmography.

8/10