"The stately home in the suburbs of Oslo has sheltered generations of the Borg family. As kids, Nora Borg (Renate Reinsve) and her younger sister, Agnes (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas), could hear their mother, Sissel's therapy sessions with clients through the flue of a wood-burning stove in their bedroom. They could hear their parents' conversations as well, both those mundane and tense."
"Sentimental Value, though a typical Trier film with its third-person narration, cast of frequent collaborators, and focus on Norway's intellectual and creative class, is a sharp tonal departure from The World Person in the World (2023). In his last film, the protagonist, Julie (also Renate Reinsve), is constantly chasing the thrill of novelty: wildly different boyfriends who challenge her idea of family and politics, a new career that will help her finally reach an unknown potential,"
The house in Sentimental Value functions as the film's protagonist, housing generations of the Borg family and preserving private conversations and therapy sessions. Nora and Agnes hold a memorial for their mother Sissel when their estranged father Gustav unexpectedly appears. The house's layered ownership history ties back to Karin, who was tortured by Nazis and later died by suicide, and to Gustav's inheritance and legal possession after Sissel's death. The home becomes the central site where drama unfolds, three generations gather, and interior changes trigger formative memories. The film marks a tonal shift from Trier's previous focus on restless novelty toward a concentrated exploration of family, memory, and place.
Read at The Nation
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