‘Sentimental Value’: A Bittersweet Norwegian Family Drama About Artistic Reclamation, Emotional Reckoning and Reparation

Sentimental Value (2025) is a bittersweet and affecting Norwegian drama starring Renate Reinsve as Nora Borg, a fledgling actress from Oslo. Nora and her sister Inga (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas) are the children of filmmaker Gustav Borg (Stellan Skarsgård), a once-renowned talent whose career has declined into semi-obscurity. The film tracks Gustav’s attempted return to prominence, fueled by equal parts professional ambition and personal reclamation.

As children, Nora and Inga watched their parents’ marriage end in a heartbreaking divorce, which Gustav used as an excuse to depart Norway altogether. Returning to his homeland years later, Gustav approaches Nora to portray the lead character in his new film, inspired by her grandmother, a member of the Norwegian resistance movement during World War II. Nora refuses the role, maintaining long-held animosity toward her father, to which Gustav pivots to young American actress Rachel Kemp (Elle Fanning) to play the part. The film follows Gustav as he struggles to bring his project to fruition, shooting in the family home while navigating complex relationships with both daughters and his young star.

Co-written and directed by Joachim Trier (Oslo August 31st, The Worst Person in the World), Sentimental Value is a finely observed drama about artistry and familial relations, anchored by its naturalistic performances and underlying questions about the nature of forgiveness. Trier side-steps forgiveness as a grand gesture, instead detailing the complexities of balancing free will with personal healing: negotiation, assessment, and the slow accumulation of small decisions that culminate in reconciliation.

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