A depressed eldest daughter carrying her family’s emotional baggage. An estranged father trying to reconnect with his children through art while simultaneously hiding his own vices. A film industry anxiously negotiating its relationship with streaming. On paper, “Sentimental Value” is built entirely from the most recognizable themes of contemporary cinema.
Yet, Danish-Norwegian filmmaker Joachim Trier manages to make those overused elements feel unexpectedly intimate. “Sentimental Value”’s slow pace refuses amplified drama and overly-done screaming matches in favor of an introspective analysis of artistry in the context of artists’ personal histories.
The film follows actress Nora Borg (Renate Reinsve) as she grapples with her estranged father’s reappearance in her life. Nora’s father, filmmaker Gustav Borg (Stellan Skarsgård), wants her to lead in his new screenplay that he wrote for her.
Nora feels as though she and Gustav can never communicate, so she refuses the role. Gustav finds famous actress Rachel Kemp (Elle Fanning) to replace her, but rehearsals demonstrate that Kemp is not the right fit. Meanwhile, Nora continues to struggle with isolation cured only by visits to her younger sister Agnes (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas) and nephew.
“Sentimental Value” is ultimately a story of family. The setting centers a house with a large crack passed down through generations, where Gustav’s mother committed suicide, and where Gustav wants to film his movie. Nora has difficulty reconciling with how different she and Agnes have become. Agnes believes she was able to settle down and start a family only because she had her older sister to rely on as a child. The sisters are surprised by the amount of understanding Gustav has for Nora’s depression in his screenplay, while viewers witness how Gustav’s depression manifests privately and reflects Nora’s.
Trier depicts these complex relationships with an air of uncertainty that persists throughout the film. Even the ending leaves a lot unsaid, despite the family’s reconciliation in other ways. The closing shot of Nora and Gustav staring at each other indicates that the two may never communicate, but they will always understand each other because they are family. For us viewers, this provides the perfect balance between a conclusive plot and a message to be determined independently.
“Sentimental Value” forgoes a conventional narrative arc to tell the story in fragments. Scenes end with abrupt cuts to black, dividing the narrative almost into vignettes and reminding viewers of the inherently meta aspect of the film. It is, after all, a film about making film. “Sentimental Value” understands that for many (such as Nora and Gustav Borg), acting and filmmaking are escapes from the harsh realities of life. However, films also serve as a form of comfort for viewers, whether it be through the characters or the narratives.
Trier doesn’t forget to suggest this complexity as he incorporates a variety of filmmaking elements into the story. In one scene, we are to assume Nora is having a breakdown in her home before noticing the distinctly black flooring and walls, and the film pans out to reveal that she is rehearsing in a black box theater in front of a live audience. In another, the outside world Nora’s nephew steps into is a monochromatic blue, but it isn’t until the camera settings change to be as if we are looking at her through a screen and Gustav shouts “cut” that we realize we were seeing a blue screen and Nora is acting in his film.
Another intriguing thread of the film is language. Trier is accustomed to making Norwegian-language films, but, in “Sentimental Value,” he explicitly comments on it through actress Kemp. When she decides to break from Gustav’s film, she notes how his decision to adapt to her and have the movie in English did not feel right. Viewers know that the movie, intended for Nora, was also intended to be in Norwegian.
Here, the film gestures toward the compromises international filmmakers often face once their work reaches global audiences. English may broaden a film’s reach and awards prospects, but the change can alter the emotional tone of the story itself. This aspect of the film, especially in the context of its limited success this awards season, turns itself inward and invites viewers to consider the decisions that shape a work long before it reaches the screen.
“Sentimental Value” has eight nominations for the 2026 Academy Awards. There is no doubt it will win Best International Feature Film. Reinsve’s performance as Nora is deeply moving, and it would be tough for the Academy to deny her Best Actress. As for Best Picture, however, the film’s reflections on language say enough; it’s unlikely that it will take home this Oscar. Still, “Sentimental Value”’s take on culturally relevant messages cements it as a timeless masterpiece.
