At the beginning of Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value, a film festival retrospective becomes the meeting point for an experienced director and a young actor. It’s Gustav Borg, played by Stellan Skarsgård, who is surprised to receive a dinner invitation from Rachel Kemp (Elle Fanning). The two connect, and in Gustav Rachel sees the image of a wonderful parent. This warm, genuine relationship becomes the heart of the deeply moving film in many ways, which has now earned 9 Oscar nominations.
Elle Fanning and Stellan Skarsgard talk about working with Joachim Trier
Ahead of the release of Sentimental Value on Mubi India, HT spoke with both the actors. Elle and Stellan began by agreeing that both Joachim’s previous films and the script for this film were factors that led them to say yes for the sentimental value. “For me, reading the script… I wanted to be in that world. I wanted to be a part of it. I very much wanted to be a part of Joachim’s film. I’m grateful that he thought of me for Rachel Kemp. It was very special.”
Stellan says, “I also wanted to work with him! I was waiting for his call and finally he called (smiling). I was very happy when he offered me the role. As you said, living with this film… it’s like living with a novel. It’s a beautiful landscape.”
When I bring up the above scene at the film festival, Elle says, “I’ve been to the Deauville Film Festival before and we shot during the film festival while it was happening. It added a great layer to the scenes. I’ve been lucky enough to go to a lot of festivals, and Cannes is definitely like a special film festival for me and I’ve been there a few times. I had the opportunity to be on the jury there at a very young age and I remember being in that room with a lot of the filmmakers. I remember talking to them and being like, ‘Wow!’
“I’ve been going to a lot of festivals for the last 40 years,” says Stellan. “I love them because they’re the meeting place for great actors and filmmakers as well as film lovers. I appreciate that very much.”
The meta-ness of playing Rachel Kemp
In sentimental value, Elle’s character is the most intriguing. she keeps it the best of herself instagram postWhere she described how ‘traveling to Oslo for the first time to work with a Norwegian director, playing an American actress who was traveling to Oslo for the first time to work with a Norwegian director. Meta to say the least.’ Elle explains what a typical day on set looked like, “It’s true! There are a lot of layers to the scenes, in the sense that what was happening inside the camera was also happening around me. One can learn from the experience of what’s happening around them. I’ve never played an actress before, so it was interesting for me to represent that on screen as an actor.”
“But also, more than just an actor,” says Elle. The man writes alongside Joachim’s films. Yes, that’s our business, but he’s also a three-dimensional and fully-realized person, so it was digging deeper and exploring his fears, his neuroses. All the things that went into it, being able to see it come to fruition was one of the most exciting parts for me. Many times we laughed about it! Even what is happening now!”
There’s a scene in the movie where both Gustav and Rachel are being interviewed, and an absurd question really makes him angry, and he tells the interviewer to get out! I say Elle and Stellan can go ahead and do the same thing now, and they’re game!
‘The power of this film is the therapy it offers’
At the film’s world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival last year, Joachim Trier declared, ‘Tenderness is the new punk!’ A film that upholds its values and creates space for a family to come together tenderly. Talking about this statement, Stellan says, “Joachim didn’t talk about it during the shooting. It was only at the Cannes press conference. He incorporated it into the work. He filled the set with his tenderness, his humanity. His tolerance is fantastic and he’s as forgiving as anything. And so, as he says, goodness is contagious. We just hope that many people can spread it.”
Elle says, “The power of this film is the healing that it provides. It’s something we need in the world. There’s a harmony in the film that’s really beautiful, but it’s not tied into a new bond like life is. It’s not just something that can just be fixed like movie magic. That’s why it’s resonating with people because they can maybe access that feeling in their families and in their lives.”
When I ask both of them if their own families have seen the sentimental value, Elle says, “My sister has seen the movie and it was something that really connected with us. I’m the younger brother, and what the movie really talks about – Joachim really put into words, what it means to be a sibling, to watch over them and protect them. We were quite emotional. She says it’s her favorite movie that I did (smiling).
Stellan says, “My sons have seen it. My youngest son cried a lot and told me it’s a beautiful film. It’s obviously a very good children’s film! Alexander saw it and loved it. Then Gustav saw it and said, ‘Do you recognize yourself!’ I said no, he is completely different from me. (Both laugh)”
“He definitely thought he didn’t get enough attention as a kid!” He concludes with a sly smile.
Sentimental Value also stars Renate Reinsway, Inga Ibsdotter Lilias and Anders Danielsen Lee.