sentimental value review
Starring: Renate Reinsway, Stellan Skarsgård, Inga Ibsdotter Lilias, Elle Fanning and Anders Danielsen Lee
Director: Joachim Trier
Rating: ★★★★.5
Nothing destroys us more than family. It is the root of all causes; It explains how we see the world, how we choose to love, and who we can’t help but hate. Norwegian director Joachim Trier’s new film Sentimental Values ​​takes a look at a dysfunctional family, who just so happens to be involved in filmmaking. It is the home of the Borg family where we first set our eyes, as a female voiceover takes us through its history, its various secrets and gates, tracing the lives of its inhabitants over the decades. These spectacular opening minutes lay the foundation for a film that continually surprises and delights, culminating in an intimate family portrait that hits very close to the heart.
Base
Gustav Borg (Stellan SkarsgÃ¥rd) is a great filmmaker, but not a particularly good father. Their divorce and the resulting distance from their two daughters, Nora (Renate Reinsway) and Agnes (Inga Ibsdotter Lilias), have left lasting scars on their relationship. Gustav returns to Oslo, and Nora is right when she senses that he definitely wants something. Because there is no other reason for his reappearance other than his own. Nora’s sadness is a living entity, a dark shadow that haunts her like a ghost. A theater artist, her need for validation and her untapped anger never leave her alone. Agnes is much more tolerant, having started a family of her own. She was once an actress, but left this profession a long time ago.
Turns out, Gustav has written a script – his first in a decade – and wants to cast Nora in the lead role. Shocked by his audacity, she rejects it outright. Gustav then took a chance on American actress Rachel Kemp (Elle Fanning gets her most meta-role to date) and cast her in her place. Rachel practices lines in English and tries really hard to impress Gustav, and through her, the audience learns what’s wrong.
amazing writing and acting
Trier, who co-wrote the screenplay with Eskil Vogt, brilliantly depicts the lives of these characters with a keen eye for dialogue. The script, novelistic in its authenticity and detail, leaps confidently between years to trace the Borg family’s history one moment and Nora’s depressed life the next. Off-kilter moments of sharp wit also work tremendously, such as Gustav gifting his grandson DVDs of Irreversible and The Piano Teacher on his birthday. Or slyly observe how talent agents and PRs work around actors, pursuing them and promoting them.
What is sentimental value about anyway? Is this about the production of Gustav’s new film? Or is it about Nora and Agnes’ reconciliation with their father? Why, it’s about both: a filmmaker and a father, a film and a family, the presence of history and a question of endurance. This is a film that interrogates how films can be a medium of reconciliation, a place of catharsis. A mix of the personal and the political. Gustav may not realize why he behaves the way he does, but Agnes tries to find out. The generational trauma that binds Gustav and Nora also pulls them apart. Fortunately, Trier doesn’t side with these people or villainize them. However it does get a little overwhelming at times. Sentimental value writes too much to surprise oneself.
It is Agnes who becomes the conscience of the film. Inga Ibsdotter Lilia is quietly devastated as the sister who watches these people, the one who knows exactly how lonely her sister has become. His eyes are the life of this film. One particularly poignant scene, with him and Nora taking time out to talk to each other, is the film’s clear standout moment of emotional truth. What an amazing group of actors Trier and his team have assembled! Perhaps the most intriguing character is given to Elle Fanning, who plays a very nice actor who must realize that he has been miscast. This is his best performance till date. She makes Rachel Kemp even more: a curious, empathetic person who knows her worth. His scenes with Gustav at the film festival are excellent.
Meanwhile, Stellan SkarsgÃ¥rd is in the best form of his career as the absentee father who increasingly realizes that time is no longer in his hands. His actions have consequences. His body language changes a lot during the film. Nevertheless, the sentimental value really belongs to Renate Reinsway. The actor is captivating here as a woman who has struggled with depression and loneliness for years, an actor who endures personal trauma to enhance his performance. He’s alive on stage, but it takes everything away from him. How long can she do this? How long can she survive without being stopped?
A sublime, deeply touching film
Sentimental Value is a film that gives the audience a chance to see the world from a different perspective. This is a masterpiece. Trier has created a film filled with immense tenderness and warmth, seeing filmmaking as a deeply flawed but sublime medium of creative expression. In movies, we bring our hearts and our bodies. We see something on the screen, and we want to know how fiction can affect us so deeply. We wonder how much life would have gone into the characters. Trier suggests, yes, a lot. Much has passed, and much is yet to come. It will be hard, unfair, tiring, reckless, fast, and gratifying. We just have to keep the door open.
Sentimental Value is available to watch on MUBI India.