Sentimental Value

I don't know how to start this review, I have a lot of thoughts that I hope will somehow form into a cohesive flowing version, but that's not often how our thoughts or lives go, and this is essentially what the movie depicts. First off, I will state that this was a pleasant viewing experience for me, as in it lived up to the standard I had prior to watching, and the hopes I had in what I would "get" from the film. This is the second film I have watched from Joachim Trier, the first being The Worst Person In the World (2021), so I felt much more acquainted with his style and presentation. I feel like in a way, the two films are connected for me and almost build off of each other, both featuring Renate Reinsve in this weird head canon of mine that empathizes with her characters and sees myself in them in certain ways. What stood out to me watching the film, but especially at the end credits was how well the acting was done across the board. Each performer put in such an incredible shift that it transcended this idea of "good acting that seems genuine" to something more like, "oh yeah, Uncle Sebastian totally acted like that, Dad used to do that, etc." The acting was visceral in a non overbearing way, just like real life. How more is said in silence, the way we look at others when their back is turned, the little joys that keep us pressing forward as the world crumbles. Renate Reinsve killed this role. To me, she seemed more matured in her acting career if this makes sense, she has refined everything from The Worst Person In the World, and it all clicked for me. Stellan Skarsgard (my beloved Baron) plays his role so well, teetering on the edge of loathsome absent father and hurting regretful father desperately trying to make amends in the only way he knows how. Supporting roles by Elle Fanning and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas are also very very well done and emotionally packed. What's crazy is each character involved in the film drops some crazy one liner that sticks the rest of the movie. Again, silence is used well in the absence of a score. Maybe I was so focused in on the facial expressions and how/what the characters were saying, but when the score finally appears it hits like a train, I believe it was like almost an hour in when significant emotion provoking music finally appears. My first thing to always comment on (and my favorite) is always cinematography. I will admit, I was so drawn into this movie I didn't even pay attention in a way, it just felt like I was in this house with so much history right alongside the Borg family. I do not speak Norwegian, but some of the words are very similar if not the same as German, which allowed me to just sit in the sounds of words and truly appreciate on screen tension between characters. This is truly one of the first times in a while the acting of a film is so dominant in why it is good and I love it. Everything is so perfectly interwoven in this film, and I believe that's why it made me feel so immersed. Agnes carefully reading up on history of her family, effortlessly puts intergenerational trauma front and center. The same house used for generations, shows longing for something, while still conveying a want to get out. Actual Rating: 4.25 / 5.00 "I know it's been hard for you. I recognize myself in you."