Sentimental Value Review: I walked into Sentimental Value expecting another quiet, moody art-house drama… You know, the kind that gets critics excited but puts half the theater to sleep.
Five minutes into the movie, I realized I wasn’t watching another “festival darling.” I was watching something that hit way deeper than that.
Joachim Trier (who already gave us The Worst Person in the World, which I still think is a modern classic) comes back with a film that feels raw, personal, complicated, and weirdly comforting at the same time. And for me, this might be the closest thing to a perfect movie I’ve seen this year.
My Rating: 4.0/5
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Title | Sentimental Value |
| Year | 2025 |
| Director | Joachim Trier |
| Writers | Joachim Trier, Eskil Vogt |
| Genre | Drama / Family / Art-house |
| Main Cast | Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård, Elle Fanning, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Anders Danielsen Lie |
| Language | English / Norwegian |
| Runtime | 2 hours |
So what’s it about?
On paper, it sounds simple:
A filmmaker (Stellan Skarsgård) wants to shoot a movie in his childhood home starring his daughter, Nora (Renate Reinsve). She’s an actress, but she’s not exactly thrilled about digging up old family ghosts. So he brings in an American actress (Elle Fanning) who really wants the role.
But the movie isn’t really about filmmaking.
It’s about the bruises families leave on each other without even noticing.
It’s about daughters trying to understand the man who raised them… or didn’t raise them.
It’s about the house itself, this old, creaky Oslo home that feels like it’s been absorbing the family’s memories, secrets, and broken promises for generations.
There’s this beautiful opening narration that basically sets the tone for everything that comes after. Honestly, the first few minutes alone felt like a tiny short film, warm, nostalgic, slightly painful.
What hit me the most?
You know that moment in a movie where an actor does something so specific, so quietly devastating, that you realize you’ve been holding your breath?
That happens a lot here.
Renate Reinsve is just… unreal. She has a scene early on where she needs to step on stage, and it becomes this slow-motion panic spiral. The entire audience in my theater froze. It’s the kind of moment where you feel the character’s entire emotional history without anyone explaining anything.
Elle Fanning surprised me, too. Her character could’ve easily been treated like this clueless Hollywood outsider, the “American actress” stereotype, but Trier doesn’t do that. She takes the work seriously. She respects the material. And watching her navigate the emotional landmines of this family is both funny and strangely sweet.
And Stellan Skarsgård?
He plays the kind of father whose charm doesn’t quite cover the mess he created. You get why people adore him… and why they resent him. It’s complicated, and the movie doesn’t try to “fix” him for the audience.
One thing Trier nails: the process
If you love movies about filmmaking, real filmmaking, not the glamorized version, this is one of the sharpest I’ve seen.
The rewrites… the financing… the weird emotional therapy sessions disguised as script discussions… the quiet resentments that bubble up on set…
It all feels painfully true.
And then there’s that ending.
I won’t spoil anything, but it’s one of those endings that doesn’t shout. It just slowly clicks into place, and suddenly everything makes sense. I walked out of the theater with that warm, heavy feeling you get when a film actually finishes saying something instead of just ending.
So… is Sentimental Value a masterpiece?
For me?
Yeah. Pretty close.
It’s intimate, it’s messy, it’s emotionally intelligent, and it respects its audience enough not to spoon-feed anything.
I don’t hand out 10s easily, but this one got it.
Also Read: Keeper Review – Did Osgood Perkins Finally Hit a Wall, or Am I Losing My Mind?
My Good & Bad of Sentimental Value
| What Works | What Doesn’t |
|---|---|
| Renate Reinsve gives one of the best performances of the year | Some people might find the pacing slow, especially in the middle |
| Elle Fanning’s character is written with surprising depth | A few flashbacks feel abrupt before they settle into the story |
| The father–daughter dynamic hits hard without melodrama | Viewers expecting a “big twist” or heavy plot might feel underwhelmed |
| The house becomes a living emotional space, not just a location | It’s definitely an art-house film, so not everyone will vibe with it |
| The ending is quietly perfect | If you haven’t seen Trier’s style before, it may take time to adjust |
Final Thoughts on Sentimental Value
If you love films that actually feel something, not in a forced way, not in a “look how profound we are” way, but in an honest, human way — Sentimental Value is absolutely worth finding in a theater.
Movies like this don’t come around every month.
Some years, they barely come around at all.
Trier just gets people.
And this one got me.
1 thought on “Sentimental Value Review — The Best Movie of the Year, and Nobody’s Ready for It”
Haha, Kalpesh, your piece on *Sentimental Value* is spot-on, almost *too* spot-on! You captured that feeling of walking out, feeling both warm and heavy, like Trier gently shoved a familys messy emotional history right into your chest. Honestly, calling Renate Reinsve unreal might be putting it mildly – shes basically emotional reality itself, rendered human. And Elle Fanning defying the clueless Hollywood outsider trope? Refreshing! Though I suspect Triers take on the filmmaking process is so true it might give actual filmmakers anxiety. Plus, your 10/10 feels perfectly justified – if this movie didnt earn it, what did? 😉 Well said!