"Swapping the party people of his Oslo trilogy for a more mature lens on familial strife, Joachim Trier was at the top of his game with Sentimental Value, drawing perfectly pitched performances from The Worst Person in the World collaborator Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas. Reinsve plays Nora, a theatre actress suffering from stage fright who is rocked by the return of her father, charismatic film director Gustav, when her mum passes away after a long illness."
"Gustav has an ulterior motive for coming home: a film he wants Nora to perform in, as a character based upon his own late mother, a member of the Norwegian resistance who committed suicide after the war. Nora refuses and swiftly sinks into depression, comforted by her younger sister, Agnes (Lilleaas), who is more forgiving of her father's sins. Meanwhile Gustav keeps his hopes for the film alive by casting an American, Rachel Kemp (Elle Fanning), in the role originally intended for his daughter."
"Albert Serra's film about Peruvian matador Andrés Roca Rey was the year's most ravishing and intense documentary, a hypnotic vision that unflinchingly depicts the cruelty of this ancient bloodsport without stopping to debate the moral outrage that has driven it to the brink of extinction. Instead, we get long takes of the torero at work in the arena, where long-held traditions frequently shade into the bizarre, along with scenes of the bulls being weakened for the fight before their final, agonising death throes."
Sentimental Value follows Nora, a theatre actress suffering from stage fright who is destabilised by the return of her father, film director Gustav, after their mother dies. Gustav wants Nora to perform in a film based on his late mother, a resistance member who committed suicide; Nora refuses and sinks into depression, supported by her forgiving sister Agnes. Gustav casts American Rachel Kemp (Elle Fanning) in the part intended for Nora. The film examines art, ageing and familial roles through intimate performances by Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas.
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