Joachim Trier on the Art of Calculated Chaos
Joachim Trier, director of The Worst Person in the World, returns with a new film exploring themes of estrangement, generational wounds, and the healing potential of cinema.
Film Overview: Sentimental Value (2025)
Winner of the Cannes Grand Prix, Sentimental Value centers on a Norwegian family, yet its story resonates universally with the human experience. The plot follows Gustav Borg (Stellan Skarsgård), an aging director seeking to reconnect with his two daughters, Nora (Renate Reinsve) and Agnes (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas), after their mother’s passing.
Gustav brings a screenplay written specifically for Nora, a stage actor, loosely inspired by his own mother’s life. When Nora declines the role, he casts American actress Rachel Kemp (Elle Fanning) in her place, a choice that feels uneasy throughout.
Setting as a Living Character
The family home, where Gustav’s mother once lived and where Nora and Agnes were raised, becomes a central figure in the film. The house transforms into a film set for Gustav’s project, embodying the lingering weight of the past and intertwining multiple generations.
"Several generations fold into each other around the family home, which becomes a character in itself that embodies the weight of the past."
Artistic Context
From Natsuko Tanihara’s Bunraku-inspired paintings at Multiply Encoded Messages to Yuta Geshi’s everyday art at Decameron Artists, Frieze celebrates the impact it brings to London and the broader art world through exhibitions by artists, curators, directors, and exhibitors.
Author's Summary
Joachim Trier's latest film uses a family’s fragmented past and a symbolic home to explore the deep emotional wounds between generations and cinema's power to bridge them.