The tail end of the year is usually one of the most exciting times in the world of film. Not only are many movies that received accolades at film festivals beginning to be released, but several of them are racking up nominations at prestigious awards ceremonies. Just this past week, the Golden Globes revealed its nominations, and while several of the films that received multiple nominations were expected, one movie took many cinephiles by surprise. That film was Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value (2025).
Despite being in limited release and not premiering on a streaming platform like Netflix, Sentimental Value was nominated for eight separate Golden Globes, including Best Motion Picture - Drama. For comparison’s sake, the only other film to snag more nominations is Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another (2025). To make things more interesting, the Golden Globes are oftentimes a major indicator of which films will be nominated for the Oscars, so Sentimental Value’s surprisingly strong performance makes it a dark horse this awards season. If you haven’t heard of this film before, here’s everything you need to know about Sentimental Value, including whether or not you should see it.
What Is The Plot Of ‘Sentimental Value’?
Sentimental Value primarily follows Nora Borg (Renate Reinsve) as her father, Gustav (Stellan Skarsgård), re-enters her life after years of separation. It’s not an emotional reunion, mostly because Gustav abandoned Nora and her sister to pursue his career as a movie director. His career was successful, but Nora grew to resent him, even as she began to take up acting. Now, as an adult, Gustav reaches out to her in the wake of his ex-wife’s and Nora’s mom’s death to ask Nora to star in his latest film, one based on his own childhood, where Nora plays his mom.
While the film is mostly from Nora’s perspective, Sentimental Value also shifts frequently to Gustav as he attempts to make what he intends to be his final film. In those moments, the film becomes a story about an aging director trying to create art on his terms and the difficulties of doing so. We see how he tries to acquire funding, a distributor for his film, and the compromises he makes along the way, including recasting his daughter with a popular American actress, played by Elle Fanning. Sentimental Value doesn’t shy away from the complex emotional realities of both characters, though, as they use this experience to at least attempt to understand where the other is coming from.
Who Is Joachim Trier, And What Other Films Has He Directed?
If you’ve never heard of Sentimental Value’s director, Joachim Trier, before, don’t feel bad. After all, unless you live in Norway, there’s a very good chance he wouldn’t have been on your radar. Trier began directing films in 2006 with his debut film, Reprise. It garnered positive critical buzz and set a precedent for him for years to come.
While Sentimental Value was shortlisted for Norway’s submission for the Academy Awards’ International Feature category, some of Trier’s other films got pretty close, like his sophomore outing, Oslo, August 31st (2011), and Thelma (2017). However, everything changed with The Worst Person in the World (2021). That film went on to win critical acclaim both in Norway and was nominated in two categories at the 94th Academy Awards, Best International Feature Film and Best Original Screenplay. It would lose to Drive My Car (2021) and Belfast (2021), respectively, but it would later be considered one of the best films of the 21st century, at least according to the New York Times.
Where You Know The Cast Of ‘Sentimental Value’ From
While you may assume that you wouldn’t know any of the cast from Sentimental Value, considering it a foreign movie, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Many of the actors involved are not only good, but they’re some of the best in the business.
Take Renate Reinsve, for example. She previously collaborated with Trier on The Worst Person in the World, in which she played the lead, Julie, earning her numerous accolades. Even if you have never seen a film from Norway before, she made her Western debut in A Different Man (2024) as Ingrid, starring opposite Sebastian Stan.
As for Stellan Skarsgård, patriarch of the Skarsgård family, most moviegoers will probably recognize him as the imposing and manipulative Lord Harkonnen from Dune (2021) or as Bill from Mamma Mia! (2008). Elle Fanning most recently appeared in dual roles in Predator: Badlands (2025), but also showed her acting chops in A Complete Unknown (2024) and The Neon Demon (2016).
Why You Should Watch ‘Sentimental Value’
Sentimental Value, like The Worst Person in the World, is a very emotional, vulnerable movie that feels both grounded and authentic. It’s not melodramatic in the slightest. Instead, it’s a movie for people who simply want to see a realistic and believable familial drama.
The film doesn’t paint any of its characters as good guys or bad guys, but humans with their own flaws. It’s probably one of the better examples in recent years of a dysfunctional father-daughter relationship, hitting a lot of the same beats as Aftersun (2022), but without leaving you horribly depressed and hollow after viewing it.
Even if you can’t necessarily relate to the familial dynamic in Sentimental Value, it’s also just a great movie about an aging director trying to go out on his own terms, but can’t because of the restrictions of the modern movie-making landscape. At first, it’s small concessions, but it slowly progresses to the point where he deludes himself into thinking the film he’s making is still his original vision and not a pale imitation of its former self. Either way, Sentimental Value is just a well-made and thought-provoking movie, and it’s no wonder it earned as many Golden Globe nominations as it did.
