Joachim Trier’s new film "Sentimental Value" has cemented his reputation for capturing delicate human emotions. After earning the Grand Prix at Cannes, this film is already being talked about for the Oscars. Berlin (dpa) – Norwegian filmmaker Joachim Trier has confirmed his status as one of arthouse cinema’s most sought-after directors with “Sentimental Value”, which won the Cannes Grand Prix and is being praised for its acting and distinctive visual language. Few directors capture human feeling in such delicate images as Trier, with some calling him a modern incarnation of cult filmmaker Ingmar Bergman for the emotional depth in his work. Since "The Worst Person in the World" with Renate Reinsve, Trier has been in high demand. When "Sentimental Value" premiered in Cannes, many were sure the family drama would win the Palme d’Or. In the end, Trier received the festival’s second most important award, the Grand Prix. The film lingers in the viewer's thoughts with its outstanding performances and striking imagery. "Sentimental Value" tells a simple story. A father (Stellan Skarsgård) has become estranged from his daughter and tries to reconnect after her mother’s death. Gustav works as a director. His daughter Nora (Reinsve) is a theatre actor and is meant to star in his comeback film. Nora resents that he was not there for her as a child and turns the role down. She generally struggles to allow closeness and suffers depressive episodes. Only with her sister (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas) does she have a close relationship. An actor from the US (Elle Fanning) ultimately takes the role, creating new tensions within the family. The centre of events is the family home, which frames the story. Trier uses the house not as a mere backdrop but as a space where relationships become visible. The camera uses walls and door frames to render proximity and distance spatially. He also often moves in close to his characters’ faces, making the finest of emotions visible and heightening the film’s emotional depth. It is a story of family structures, and of the support and the wounds they can contain. At the same time it is about the artistic life. All this is told with melancholy and humour. At one point Gustav gives his young grandson an inappropriate birthday present of Michael Haneke’s morbid psychodrama "The Piano Teacher" on DVD and tells him the film will explain women and their relationships with their mothers. Despite references that will delight cinephiles, "Sentimental Value" can appeal to a broad audience. As in "The Worst Person in the World", it is about love, loss and fear, in essence about life itself. Trier tells it so delicately that the film moved some at May’s festival to tears. An Oscar nomination, at least in the Best International Feature Film category, is considered likely. The following information is not intended for publication dpa lif yyzz n1 cor
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