Sentimental Value

This might just be Joachim Trier's magnum opus. Sentimental Value held my attention for its entire runtime, to the point that I don't think I fully exhaled until the credits rolled. There's so many angles you can view this from and so many themes you can interrogate that you could watch this a handful of times and see it in a different light with each rewatch. Every performance is so real and tender that I really can't pick a favourite or say what the stand out is. Each character feels so lived in and I think everyone can find at least one character to relate to in one way or another. I loved the backdrop of the house too, it really elevates the dynamic of the characters, and by the end of the film the house truly feels like a character in its own right that pulls on your heart strings in a way I wasn't expecting. The third act is easily the best I've seen for a while, it ties everything together perfectly and had me absorbed in the screen. I felt like Trier was slowly peeling away layers of me and leaving me more and more vulnerable in such a tender way that I can't really describe. 2025 Ranked Films that feel too real