Kritiken

The [film's] tone is rich and sophisticated... and Trier moves with similar poise between plot lines, steering the story one way, nudging it the other... As threads are artfully drawn together, you realise the smallest details have all had a place in the design.

[Sentimental Value] uses humour throughout, often in ways so unexpected that they catch you off guard... Sentimental Value is, at its core, a film about family and, in turn, reconciliation. Trier creates a beautiful film that definitely fits the mainstream more than his previous works, yet still manages to keep the same themes littered throughout it.

Just like The Worst Person in the World, Sentimental Value is another superbly written and acted drama... a beautifully written film with gorgeous performances across the board.

Sentimental Value is a rich work... [and] functions equally well whether one views it as a family tale covering complex emotions or as a study of an aging filmmaker striving against the odds to make a new work which is important to him.

[Sentimental Value] is a strikingly emotional film that genuinely feels like something Ingmar Bergman would have made if he was still around, though Trier proves himself to be a worthy spiritual successor.

Cinema this smart simply shouldn’t be this much fun to watch... It’s thanks to [Skarsgård], Reinsve, Fanning and Lilleaas – plus the nimble wit of Trier and Eskil Vogt’s screenplay – that the film flows with such ravishing freeness.

[Sentimental Value] is emotional and powerful without being overblown, managing to remain entirely realistic in its story and interpersonal relationships without ever slipping into the mundane – and it’s also peppered throughout with quite dark humour.

So classy, sleek and attractive is the package that it’s easy to overlook the film’s thematic thinness. [Sentimental Value] is delightful to swallow, but it leaves little aftertaste once the morsel has passed the epiglottis.

Reinsve continues her outstanding run of work with Trier, and Skarsgård’s performance proves a real highlight... Overlapping notions of family, cinema and healing are neatly tied up in an arresting and heartrendingly gentle finale that will leave an ache in your chest.

Sentimental Value is moving in moments, and Trier and co-writer Eskil Vogt’s dialogue is as sharp and quick-witted as ever... Skarsgård is the best he’s been in years... and there’s keen wisdom in Sentimental Value’s observation of the gulf between who our parents are and who we wish they were.

Sentimental Value doesn’t argue that art heals all wounds, but that it’s sometimes the only recourse for honest expression. If it’s a little less messy than we’d hope for with Trier – well, then it argues beautifully for why it’s a blessing that those messier films exist in the first place.

In a host of beautifully restrained performances, Reinsve delivers another knockout turn. More than a virtual sequel to The Worst Person in the World, Sentimental Value peels layers off the Messy Woman cliché with devastating honesty.