Sentimental Value (2025)

IMDb plot summary: An intimate exploration of family, memories, and the reconciliatory power of art.

Directed by Joachim Trier. Stars Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård, and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas.

Sentimental Value is a quiet, absorbing family drama about a filmmaker and his two adult daughters, one of whom is an actress and somewhat estranged from him. He asks her to play the lead in a film he wrote for her, and she refuses, so he casts someone else, and we see how the making of this film affects their relationships. I found it a more interesting watch than The Worst Person in the World, my last Joachim Trier film, largely because of how patiently it unravels its characters. Each of these three feels deep and layered, even the sister we don't get to see as much, and the character development feels like a mystery being solved. The film offers a thoughtful look at how art does -- and maybe shouldn't -- overlap with real life, and where the boundaries between the two can blur. The ending left me wanting more, but not in a frustrating way so much as in a way that just acknowledges life doesn't wrap up neatly. It’s an interesting, reflective film, and one I definitely want to revisit.

How it entered my Flickchart:

🎥 Sentimental Value (2025)

📊 Ranked #1285/4178 on my Flickchart

🎯 Flickscore™: 69

beat Raising Arizona (#2092 → #2093)

lost to Robin Hood (held at #1039)

beat Single White Female (#1560 → #1561)

beat New York Stories (#1298 → #1299)

lost to Dicks: The Musical (held at #1168)

lost to Dangerous Liaisons (held at #1233)

lost to Freaky Friday (held at #1265)

lost to Last Year at Marienbad (held at #1281)

beat Army of Shadows (#1289 → #1290)

beat Finder's Fee (#1285 → #1286)

lost to Fanny and Alexander (held at #1283)

lost to 28 Up (held at #1284)