Sentimental Value

God, this is such a perfect movie. Every performance in this is perfect and I really, really, really hope that Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas takes Best Supporting Actress and just blows up because she's an absolute scene-stealer. I'm sorry, I really should give this five stars. I can say for certainty that if I cried in either of my watches it would be a five star. So, I'm left wondering if the emotional core not fully resonating with me is my fault or a direct result of the intentionally hollow feeling this has. I see the central question of this movie as trying to understand why parents make the decisions that they do, especially when they have children. Without getting deeply personal, this is a question I've asked myself for essentially the entirety of my life and I find myself heavily relating to some of these characters. I think I just don't want to accept the reality that even if you know the story, the explanation never really makes up for the lost time. That's a realization that's very distancing and leaves you feeling empty, which is the point, but I, like Nora, kind of cling to some fleeting hope that things don't have to be so unsentimental. A Labi Siffre needledrop is just the absolute cherry on top to this gut-punch of a movie (The Holdovers had Crying, Laughing, Loving, Lying as its last song and that also got me pretty good); Cannock Chase is so beautiful and is an emotional cheat code