22 August 2025
SENTIMENTAL VALUE **** (vo English and Norwegian)
This poignantly crafted family drama by Norwegian director Joachim Trier unfolds as an intimate exploration of memory and fractured family bonds. The story centers on Nora, a celebrated Oslo stage and television actress and her younger sister Agnes, who live very different lives – Nora, restless and emotionally scarred; Agnes, grounded and nurturing.
It’s also of course about their estranged father Gustav Borg (Stellan Skarsgård, superb in this Oscar-worthy role), a once-renowned director. After their mother’s death, Gustav returns and asks Nora (the radiant Renate Reinsve) to star in his new autobiographical film. When she refuses, he casts Hollywood star Rachel Kemp (Elle Fanning) in her place. The narrative takes place within the family’s ancestral home, which becomes a symbol of memories and unspoken history. This home – aging and haunted by the past – becomes a central character, as its walls serve as a vessel for grief and family legacy. In this setting, Trier delves into generational trauma with a delicate touch, probing whether art can heal or unearth deeper wounds.
Though the film may meander at times, it remains highly affecting, weaving art and emotions into a quietly profound tapestry. As with many other deep, discreet films from Norway (including the recent Oslo trilogy on our screens) and the Nordic countries.
Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value” had its world premiere at Cannes on 21 May 2025, receiving a record-setting 19-minute standing ovation and later winning the Grand Prix.
ALPHA * (vo French)
Despite top actors such as Tahar Rahim (who lost 20 kilos for his role as a drug addict) and the glorious Golshifteh Farahani, this mangled, aimless and depressing film – an allegory of disease and social misery – is one you may want to miss.
Director Julia Ducournau, who undeservedly won Cannes’ 2021 Palme d’Or for her sickly shocking “Titane”, gets back into her body horror genre with the victims of a strange (AIDS or Covid-like) virus who turn into marble-like figures.
The story has no time nor place – it just follows an errant 13-year old girl, Alpha, who may have caught the virus through an unprofessional tattoo, her terribly distraught mother and the drug addict uncle. Here’s another family drama, but at the opposite end of the spectrum from the film above, which shows clearly the difference between a thoughtful masterpiece, and controversial tripe.
Pity for the actors….and for the audience.
Superb **** Very Good *** Good ** Mediocre * Miserable – no stars
By Neptune
Neptune Ravar Ingwersen reviews film extensively for publications in Switzerland. She views 4 to 8 films a week and her aim is to sort the wheat from the chaff for readers.
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