Film: Sentimental Value

This group is for relaxed discussion of recent foreign films - of all types, from any country. We keep the number of meeting participants small so everyone has an equal opportunity to speak. In addition, our aim is not to be technical film critics. The goal is to search out films that give us an alternative cultural, social, political viewpoint - a viewpoint that comes from the rest of the world outside the US. And our main interest is in character development, relationships, and story.

As Scott Roxborough of the Hollywood Reporter puts it:
“Hollywood has stopped making movies for adults, with a few exceptions. That leaves room for the Europeans, who only make films for adults.”

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Sentimental Value is a 2025 Norwegian drama film directed by Joachim Trier. “Sisters Nora (Renate Reinsve) and Agnes (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas) reunite with their estranged father, the charismatic Gustav (Stellan Skarsgård), a once-renowned director who offers stage actress Nora a role in what he hopes will be his comeback film.”

The film is one of the 2026 Oscar nominees for best picture (there’s no way it will win of course), and each of the four lead actors are award nominees. The movie won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival in 2025.

“Deftly exploring the uneasy tension between artistic expression and personal connection, Sentimental Value is a bracingly mature work that's marvelously acted across the board.”

Joachim Trier is a Danish-Norwegian filmmaker whose films have been described as “melancholy meditations concerned with existential questions of love, ambition, memory, and identity.” All of that certainly applies to this film, which addresses a number of profound adult themes.

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/sentimental_value

The film can be streamed from Apple TV, Fandango, Prime Video, and possibly elsewhere.