Sentimental Value: May Make You Cry!

If you long for a new Ingmar Bergman film, Director Joachim Trier's "Sentimental Value" is about as close as you can get.  The film has received A.A. nominations for Best Director, Best Picture, Best Actress in a Leading Role for Reinsve, Best Supporting Actor for Skarsgård, and Best Supporting Actress for Fanning & Lilleaas.  Bergman made some of the greatest films of all time, such as "The Seventh Seal" and "Persona," and his last film was "Saraband" (2003) before he passed away in 2007. "Sentimental Value," a Norwegian film with subtitles, is an interesting and emotionally-compelling family drama (although it's technically classified as a comedy, which is absurd).  Foreign films are slower-paced than U.S. ones, so my tolerance for the pacing is higher.  Although I still thought the first half was a bit on the slow side, the second half was great and more-than-compensated for it.  The movie is in my Top 5 for 2025 and it's a MUST-SEE! Nora Berg (Renate Reinsve) is a well-known and excellent theatre actress.  She is extremely close to her younger sister, Agnes (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas).  Agnes was a child actress, but now she is an Academic Historian.  Nora is pretty screwed up, secondary to their traumatic childhood.  Agnes, despite the childhood trauma, is happily married, with a wonderful son.  Their parents divorced when they were young and they are both estranged from their father, Gustav (Stellan Skarsgård).  He shows up at their home reception immediately following their mother's funeral.  Both Anges and Nora are enraged at their father (for multiple valid reasons), but Nora even more so.  Their father is a famous and critically-acclaimed film Director.  He hasn't made a movie in many years, but has recently written a script that he thinks is great.  He wrote the leading part for Nora and wants her to star in it.  She is so angry at her father that she refuses to even read the script, much less act in the movie.  Shortly thereafter, Gustav goes to a film festival where one of his better movies was being shown.  The movie entrances a well-known American actress, Rachel Kemp (Elle Fanning).  Rachel invites Gustav to dinner and they hit off.  Since Nora has already rejected the part, he offers it to Rachel. I won't say any more about the plot, but the film is beautifully written and acted.  The family dynamics are subtle and fascinating.  The heart of the film is the sisters' love for each other, but the dynamics between Nora and Agnes, Nora and her father, Agnes and her father, Rachel and Gustav, and Rachel and Nora, are compelling too.  You won't see too many films with this level of depth.