This picture follows an old director (Stellan Skarsgard) who attempts to bridge the gap with his daughters, who he’s been separated from for years, while directing his new movie with a famous American actress (Elle Fanning). This movie has been garnering a decent amount of awards buzz, so I needed to see what this movie held for me, having liked but not loved Trier’s last picture.
Sentimental Value (2025) revolves around the making of a old director’s film, but there’s a bit more to chew on than that. Throughout the movie, the picture focuses on the house in which the director grew up, and eventually settled in with his family before leaving for many years. The death of his wife causes him to return, bringing up unresolved issues between all of them. The eldest daughter, Nora (Renate Reinsve), is an actress in the theater, but her father never seemed to appreciate what she works towards. Both his daughters seem to resent him, but it’s hard for them to even communicate their feelings.
Gustav (Skarsgard) offered Nora the main part in his new film, but she rejects it, not knowing whether or not to trust her father’s words. She still can’t confront him on a deeper level, but after an emotional conversation with her sister, Nora convinces herself to work with Gustav. Rachel Kemp (Fanning), who is supposed to be Nora’s replacement, finds herself unable to believe in the role. She knows it was not suited for her, so she makes the decision to entrust the role to Nora.
One moment that really stood out to me is when Agnes, the younger daughter who’s a historian, does academic research related to the past of Gustav. She learns of what happened in his past concerning his mother, and how it might’ve influenced the way he processes everything throughout his life. Gustav’s way of mental and emotional reckoning comes through his art, with his new script having multiple parallels between his own mother, and Nora. Nora finds herself alone despite all her attempts at intimacy, and seems to withdraw from society. When she finally reads the script after much time has past, she realizes that everything she wanted her father to communicate was contained in those pages. That he understood her pain, and that he was worried about her.
I’ve found that with parents, sometimes it feels like you can’t tell them even the slightest details about your life, mostly due to a fear that they won’t comprehend you. On certain days though, they can do something which reminds you that they still understand and care for you.
The images assist this movie greatly, with the camerawork making this small drama almost scale into an epic, although in some ways it is. There’s all this drama, all this movement. It makes the childhood home in which they lived in seem like the most important thing in the world. Sentimental Value dives into a history spanning generations, exploring familial pain and understanding. It shows us how even in our darkest days, a single message from another can get us through the deepest abyss. We are all imperfect individuals, but we can still try to mend the bonds that have once been strained.
