Sentimental Value

On a second viewing, the film opened up for me in a much deeper way. With the narrative already familiar, I could fully appreciate the techniques Joachim Trier employs for example the shadowed faces of the actors and how they evolve over the course of the film showing the emotion barrier between the characters, the expressive gestures (especially from Stellan Skarsgård), and the way so much is communicated without dialogue. The use of music is particularly striking; incorporating the love theme from Spartacus carries a great deal of emotional and symbolic weight for the character of Nora (loving herself and her life) but somehow in the subtext of the film it's a bit bittersweet. Ultimately, the film feels like a manifesto on generational trauma, isolation, masculinity and vulnerability, and above all, the enduring importance of art in people's life.