Sentimental Value

Took my mom to the theathre. She loved it. The authenticity of the characters, natural lighting, lack of make-up and the emotional punch at the end. She needed a few minutes to collect herself. She says the movie is only 50% of the experience, the rest is how you relate to it. I love her. On my second viewing, I noticed how the film skips over the most important events of their story. We only see the smallest glimpses of the early childhood trauma, the conflict between Nora and Gustav is never fully articulated, he talks at her for a minute in the birthday scene and that's pretty much it, and most importantly, the final reconciliation in their relations happens offscreen after he's taken to the hospital and she reads the screenplay, we never get to see this conversation. Yet, it still worked on me. I think because it is so well acted. You beleive these events took place because the reactions of the characters are so genuine. Like that moment when Nora goes from playful and relaxed in the company of her nephew, to anxious and tense in a matter of 2 seconds upon hearing her father's knock on the door. This one scene sells the authenticity of the entire film for me. And it's full of scenes like this.