Sentimental Value: Joachim Trier’s superlative drama turns its look into a family, an estranged father and two daughters, after the death of their mother. As the eldest daughter is a theater actress and the father is a film director, the film showcases how art can be a way of reconnection. It’s a beautiful and touching film, and the acting raises the (already excellent) screenplay (co-written by Trier and Eskil Vogt). Raw, powerful, but never loud and overbearing, this is filled with great performances. Renate Reinsve plays the eldest, a talented and troubled theater actress who carries much of the trauma of her parents’ separation; Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas plays the younger sister, who has seemingly dealt with it better; Stellan Skarsgård plays the father, a director trying a comeback in more ways than one. All three are incredible, and Elle Fanning, as a movie star who gets involved with his project, is nearly as good. Director of photography Kasper Tuxen Andersen shoots it beautifully, and the scenes of the film within the film are stand-outs for their nature. Editor Olivier Bugge Coutté gives the film a great pace, never hurrying during the many emotionally hard-hitting scenes.