Festivals - Cannes 2025 : Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value Strikes Deep with a Stirring 19-Minute Ovation and a Palme d’Or-Bound Momentum

By Mulder, Cannes, Palais des Festivals et des Congrès de Cannes, 21 may 2025

There are certain nights in Cannes that instantly feel like they belong to history, moments where the collective heartbeat of cinema reverberates through the red carpet, the gilded walls of the Grand Théâtre Lumière, and settles into the bones of everyone lucky enough to be in the room. Wednesday, May 21, 2025, was such a night. Joachim Trier, the Norwegian director who moved audiences worldwide with The Worst Person in the World, returned to the Croisette with his most personal and emotionally resonant film yet—Sentimental Value (Affeksjonsverdi). The result? A roaring 19-minute standing ovation, one of the longest in recent memory, and the kind of euphoric response that cements a film’s place not just in the competition lineup, but in the lore of Cannes itself. As the lights came up, viewers were visibly moved—teary, standing, clapping, unable to let go of what they had just experienced. Trier, humbled and stunned, embraced his cast—Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, and Elle Fanning—on stage in front of a wave of cheers that felt like a reunion of souls.

What makes Sentimental Value resonate so deeply is not just its exquisitely balanced drama or its formidable cast, but the way it confronts the tender and brutal complexities of family, legacy, and grief with fearless intimacy. This is Trier and longtime writing partner Eskil Vogt at their finest—diving into messy emotions with grace, nuance, and cinematic clarity. The film centers on Nora, played by Reinsve in a performance likely to be remembered long past award season, a dedicated stage actress who reunites with her estranged sister Agnes (played with quiet intensity by Lilleaas) after the death of their mother. Their father Gustav, a former auteur clinging to the shadows of past glory, re-enters their lives with a proposition: he wants to make a comeback film based on their family’s tragic history. When Nora refuses the role in a fiery, heartbreaking scene that left the Cannes audience breathless, he casts a bright-eyed Hollywood actress (a perfectly calibrated Elle Fanning) in her place. What follows is not just a story about artistic ego and familial resentment—it’s about how history, personal and political, lodges itself deep in our identities.

What’s striking is how autobiographical the film feels, even though Trier himself has not publicly confirmed any personal connections. From the haunted family home still bearing scars of Nazi atrocities, to the meta-layers of a director staging his own catharsis under the guise of a comeback, Sentimental Value grapples with how stories are inherited, distorted, and reclaimed across generations. There’s a quiet rage under its surface, especially in scenes between Gustav and his daughters, where apologies arrive too late, and ambitions eclipse empathy. The way Trier uses silence—moments where characters say nothing but communicate everything—is a testament to the film’s layered writing and Kasper Tuxen’s subtle, shadow-washed cinematography. Composer Hania Rani’s delicate score drifts like memory itself, never intrusive, always echoing.

The red carpet premiere was a festival highlight. Fanning, radiant in a blush pink gown that subtly nodded to Old Hollywood, walked alongside Reinsve, whose dark elegance evoked the quiet force of her performance. Stellan Skarsgård, towering and enigmatic, greeted fans with a kind of warm detachment not unlike his character. Onlookers whispered anecdotes of Trier’s unassuming arrival, a director who once again let his film speak louder than any press conference could. There was a tangible anticipation, amplified by the buzz from industry insiders who had heard whispers of Sentimental Value’s emotional power since NEON snapped up the U.S. rights last year at Cannes—a bold move that now looks nothing short of prescient. That same night, murmurs began circulating that the Grand Prix may not be the film’s ceiling. With NEON’s recent history of distributing the last five Palme d'Or winners, the momentum feels unstoppable.

The film’s blend of Scandinavian stillness and international flair—underscored by its co-production across Norwegian, French, German, Swedish, and British companies—gives it a distinctly European arthouse sensibility, yet it never alienates. It’s intimate, yet cinematic; slow-burning, yet devastating. Whether it’s the crumbling family manor, the awkward dinner scenes that barely mask decades of resentment, or the piercing close-ups during confrontations, Trier’s camera is always right where it hurts. And the cast rises to meet that intensity—Reinsve and Skarsgård, in particular, deliver work that feels lived-in and volcanic. Reinsve, whose Cannes legacy was already secured, might have just elevated it to icon status with this role.

Outside the theatre, after the credits rolled and the clapping refused to stop, a critic remarked to a friend, “This feels like when we saw Amour for the first time.” Another whispered, “It’s as if Bergman came back, but gentler.” Such comparisons don’t come lightly, especially in a festival where every film is a contender, but Sentimental Value clearly struck a nerve—and not just because of its artistry. It’s a film about memory, yes, but also about relevance, about how artists, parents, daughters, all reckon with who they were and who they are becoming. It’s about the painful comedy of life, and the longing to be understood.

With its theatrical release in Norway set for September, and a French debut slated for August 20, the journey of Sentimental Value is only just beginning. For now, its legacy at Cannes is already etched in applause and emotion. Whether or not the Palme d’Or awaits, Joachim Trier has delivered a film that will be remembered for far more than its runtime or its accolades. It is, quite fittingly, a story about sentimental value that leaves audiences clinging to their own.

You can discover our photos in our Flickr page

Synopsis :
Agnès and Nora see their father arrive after many years of absence. A renowned director, he offers Nora, a theater actress, a role in his next film, but she refuses defiantly. He then offers the role to a young Hollywood star, reviving painful family memories.

Sentimental Value (Affeksjonsverdi)
Directed by Joachim Trier
Written by Eskil Vogt, Joachim Trier
Produced by Maria Ekerhovd, Andrea Berentsen Ottmar
Starring  Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Elle Fanning, Cory Michael Smith
Cinematography : Kasper Tuxen
Edited by Olivier Bugge Coutté
Music by Hania Rani
Production companies : Mer Film, Eye Eye Pictures, MK Productions, BBC Film, Lumen Production, Komplizen Film, Zentropa, Zentropa Sweden,, Film i Väst, Alaz Film
Distributed by Nordisk Film (Norway, Denmark and Sweden), Memento Distribution (France), Plaion Pictures (Germany), Mubi (United Kingdom)
Release dates : 21 May 2025 (Cannes), 20 August 2025 (France)
Running time : 135 minutes

Photos : @fannyrlphotography