By Paul Salfen AMFM Magazine
Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value is the kind of film that sneaks up on you. What begins as a family reckoning—two estranged sisters, Nora and Agnes (Renate Reinsve and Elle Fanning), forced back into orbit around their charismatic, unreliable filmmaker father, Gustav (stellan skarsgård), after their mother’s death—quietly becomes something larger: a meditation on regret, reinvention, and the fragile alchemy of art.
In an exclusive conversation with AMFM Magazine, the Norwegian director, fresh off the film’s acclaimed premieres in France, Norway, and Belgium, sat down with host Paul Salfen to discuss the silences that speak louder than words, the ensemble he calls his best yet, and why luck, as he puts it, “favors the well-prepared.”
Paul Salfen: The film hit us hard—especially the quiet moments. As fathers, as daughters, we felt it. You must be proud to unveil this to the world.
Joachim Trier: I’m grateful. It’s already out in several territories and doing well. What’s fascinating is seeing old and young audiences connect. You never know. And I’m glad you mention the silences—that’s a real compliment to the actors. Ultimately, we want to get rid of dialogue. There are scenes with plenty of talk, but the goal is intimacy. A space where the audience can bring empathy, interpretation.
Trier, ever the craftsman, reveals his process is deceptively old-school. “I sit next to the camera,” he says. “Handheld monitor to check the frame, but I’m watching the actors. Feeling them. Encouraging variations. On this one, I wept. I laughed. I was moved. This is the best ensemble I’ve ever worked with.”
The ensemble is indeed electric. Reinsve, a Trier regular (The Worst Person in the World), plays Nora with a coiled intensity—refusing her father’s comeback role only to watch it go to Fanning’s eager American star, Rachel. The casting of Fanning was no accident. “Mike Mills recommended her,” Trier says of the 20th Century Women director. “He said, ‘You two will get along. She’ll understand the vibe.’ He was right.”
But Sentimental Value is more than performances. It’s a film about what art can and cannot fix. Shot in the ancestral family home, Gustav’s project becomes a mirror—forcing Nora, Agnes, and even Rachel to confront memory, ambition, and the stories we tell to survive.
Salfen: Aspiring directors look to you. What’s your advice?
Trier: Don’t be intimidated by the machine. Treat it as craft. Make films from your temperament, your voice. Not the fame game. The industry loves generic solutions. I want to see the film that’s specifically you.
When the cameras roll, Trier’s mantra is preparation as liberation. “Luck favors the well-prepared,” he says. “Rehearsals, pre-production—then, on the day, we lose control and find it in the moment. That takes planning to get to freedom.”
The result is a film that resists easy takeaways. “I’ve spoken to men about regret,” Trier reflects. “Younger people about parental disappointment. It’s entertaining, engaging—but with angles. That’s what I hope for.”
As Sentimental Value prepares for wider release, one thing is clear: Trier has made a film that doesn’t just tell a story—it invites you to finish it.
Sentimental Value is now playing in select theaters.
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