Sentimental Value

9.7 "I know it's been hard for you. I recognize myself in you." Sentimental Value is an exploration of family, reconnection, and the connecting power of art.  It carries its emotion with a quiet subtlety and nuance rather than loud outbursts. The emotion lingers instead of spiking. It’s an unraveling that leaves you naked and vulnerable by the end.  It uses the home as the anchor of the characters, and a bit like its own character. We see characters through the houses’s perspective, through and at windows that reflect the emotion at the audience and give us a glimpse into the displacement or connection between the core family and others. It’s also a sort of Time Machine, we see memories in it, stories of previous generations, it’s a capsule of love, happiness, distress, and depression. This film is a tale of distance, displacement and what can draw people towards each other again. As Nora refuses a place in Gustav’s life and movie, Rachel fills the void. Their relationship grows as Gustav experiences the paternal relationship he wishes to have with Nora, but they both come to understand Rachel is out of place, and the role isn’t just a role, it’s an outlet.  As Nora uses the art of acting to express her deep-seated emotion, Gustav created this role for her. Because he understands her and her mental trauma, because he sees himself in her. Because he found himself at the other end of the cycle that started long before Nora. Nora thinks Gustav knows nothing about her, but upon reading the script she understands he knows why she acts, and molded the perfect outlet for her emotion. They’re both troubled artists, and use their craft to express their emotion, and uncage their repression.