The February review has historically been when I write about my top-rated film of the prior year as we gear up for the Oscars in March. Most awards prognosticators have anointed this as a two-horse race for Best Picture between One Battle After Another and Sinners. Both are incredibly good films – and they are my top two films of the year as well. But I could not bring myself to write about either one for some reason. Maybe it is because I have been working on a very personally impactful play (for those in the KC area, come see “The Father” at the Olathe Civic Theatre Association running February 6-22), but I am choosing instead to write about my number three film of 2025, Sentimental Value (2025, dir. Joachim Trier).
Sentimental Value tells the story of a complicated Norwegian family. We follow the lives of two adult sisters, Nora (Renate Reinsve) and Agnes (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas) beginning with them hosting a gathering following funeral of their mother. This event brings their estranged father Gustav (Stellan Skarsgard) back into their lives. Gustav is a prominent film director of the recent past but is finding difficulty getting his next and most personal film made as he appears to have lost some of his industry influence. He comes to Nora, his daughter and up and coming theatre star, in the hopes she will star in this film. Given their complicated past, she refuses. Agnes ends up between the two of them – wanting to reconnect with her father without destroying the relationship with her sister while also yearning to know the truth of what happened to their grandmother, about whom much of Gustav’s new film script seems to be.
The film, primarily performed in Norwegian with large stretches in English as well, is a quiet family drama that often gets overlooked in today’s big budget, flashy film world. What Trier has created in this wonderful film is a simple story with a complex dynamic. What makes it work as well as it does is the amazing script and even stronger performances from its four leads, including Elle Fanning as the American actress Gustav turns to once Nora passes. (All four are nominated for Oscars this year for their work.) It is clear from the start that neither sister particularly wants their father to be a prominent figure in their lives, but their individual reactions to him returning – while also processing their own grief in addition to whatever struggles their individual lives bring them – is wonderfully presented.
It can often be difficult to evaluate a film that is not in English – nuances can be harder to spot, and wordplay is impacted significantly by the translation. Not in this case. The emotions carry the day so well, and Trier gives his actors so much space to feel it out at a deliberate pace. As is often the case for me, the ending makes it all work, evoking the line from Adaptation, “Wow ‘em in the end, and you’ve got a hit.” To discuss it in this review would be to cheapen the experience that I hope you will find the time for over the next few weeks while it is being discussed and before Skarsgard wins his first Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. It is not only worth your time, but your own family situation may bubble up to surface as you watch. That can be upsetting or comforting, but it will definitely make for a more impactful experience.
FUN FACT – Sentimental Value is the 41st film to garner at least four acting nominations. Of the previous forty, only three films (Network, Everything Everywhere All at Once, and A Streetcar Named Desire) won three. Fourteen of those films were shut out – including two (Peyton Place and Tom Jones) that went zero for five. Tom Jones at least won Best Picture, though, which is a nice consolation prize.
Just Watch says that Sentimental Value is not currently streaming on any service. It is available for rent/purchase on Apple TV, Amazon Prime, and many other services.
As a reminder, here is the original post that details the scores and weighting system.