Sentimental Value

“why didn’t our childhood ruin you?” joachim trier is just so good at pulling you in real close and making you feel. always focusing on the quiet moments and what is left and felt in the unsaid. phenomenal acting across the board. there was a deep, layered sadness about agnes that I immediately tuned into. the emotional exhaustion of being the mediator, of being someone who always understands. agnes and nora having a heartfelt conversation hit close to home. as both the older sister and the middle child, I felt this family dynamic in my bones. your childhood doesn't "ruin" you in one clean break. there are levels in which it alters you internally, and those often go unnoticed externally. rather, it ruins you in smaller, potent, invisible ways that you learn to manage. it’s a film about a broken family who can’t communicate, so they reconcile through art, how could I not love it? (shout out to my manager for telling me about this cute movie theatre lol. it's above a bookstore and it's the smallest cinema I’ve been to, making it really nice and intimate. don't love the street parking tho!!) edit 12/5: bumped this up to 5 because I've been thinking about it all week. generational trauma is fucked up and it's profound and no one leaves unscathed; and we may never get the apology that we deserve, but to understand each other in ways we can't articulate— that* holds value.