When Charli xcx coined “Joachim Trier Summer” earlier this year, who knew that that would soon turn into “Joachim Trier Fall,” and now, “Joachim Trier Awards Season.”
His latest, “Sentimental Value,” debuted at the 63rd New York Film Festival on September 30, sending his Cannes Grand Prix winner into even further awards chatter. His follow-up to “The Worst Person in the World,” the film centers on two daughters (Renate Reinsve and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas) reuniting with their estranged filmmaker father (Stellan Skarsgård) after their mother dies, and as he prepares for his next project.
“This film somehow is a continuation of previous work, but it’s also something new,” Trier told IndieWire on the red carpet at Alice Tully Hall. “Very often, we’ve focused on singular characters in our films, and this is really like an ensemble piece. It’s more of a polyphonic story of family and trying to find the silences in between, by changing point of view, changing perspective throughout.”
“Worst Person” star Reinsve plays Nora, an actress best known for her stage work. When her father, Gustav, hopes to cast her in his comeback film, she at first turns down the script. Enter Rachel Kemp, an American actress played by Elle Fanning. After being brought to tears by one of the director’s previous films, she meets Gustav and ends up taking the role, being thrown full throttle into the complicated dynamics of a family in distress. As for Reinsve, this project was already in talks as she and Trier were filming their last, “The Worst Person in the World.” This film marks their third collaboration together, including her one-line role in 2011’s “Oslo, August 31st,” her film debut.
“It was actually during that shoot [on ‘Worst Person’] we felt that artistic connection on set, and that was very naive and open,” Reinsve said. “We started talking about different traits of a character, like what if this and that, but there wasn’t room for it in that movie.”
“Opening that script [for ‘Sentimental Value’] was so scary,” she continued. “He knows me much better now, both as a person and an actor, so I was very curious about how he wanted to challenge me this time. It was really exciting to read the role with so much emotional weight and playing around with what she knew about herself and what she didn’t know about herself. We have so much trust now. It is so much fun, even though it’s heavier.”
‘Sentimental Value’Courtesy Everett Collection
Trier worked with many previous collaborators on this film, including best friend and co-writer Eskil Vogt. But Golden Globe nominee Fanning was brand new to the mix. “I learned so much,” she said of working with the director.
“I feel like I’m spoiled now being on his film set, because it’s quite a beautiful thing,” Fanning continued. “He really sees you, and he also knows what he wants. He really allows you to feel free and vulnerable, and he pulls these things out of you that have been dormant inside or are kind of subconscious. Then you’re in the moment, and he’s right next to the camera as well while you’re filming. He’s right there watching you in real time; he sees it all. He’s not afraid of silence. That’s something I really learned. It’s a beautiful thing that you see in the film.”
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, who plays Reinsve’s sister in the film, also was overjoyed to be working with Trier as well. “Tenderness is cool,” she said when asked what she learned from him. “The best way to approach something is with tenderness and love.”
Trier was also beaming as I brought up the fact that Norway chose the film as its submission for Best International Feature Film at next year’s Oscars. “It’s out of my control, but I’m grateful to be chosen by the Norwegian Film Institute.”
“As an actor, it’s important to keep a distance with bad reviews and good reviews; it can be scary,” Reinsve said of the film’s rapturous reception out of Cannes. “We were really scared going to Cannes with this movie. I was so relieved and so happy. It’s been really great. You make a movie to find a collective in some things you feel that are personal to yourself, and then you have people respond to that in their way, and have conversations [where] you learn even more about those feelings.”
‘Sentimental Value’Courtesy Everett Collection
She also just came off shooting “The Backrooms,” with Kane Parsons as the youngest director A24 has ever worked with. The viral YouTube horror series has amassed nearly 200 million views since its 2022 debut, and before getting a feature film greenlight. “He was so impressive,” Reinsve said.
“He turned 20 during the shoot. He was very sure of what he wanted, and I love that he hasn’t really watched that many movies. His references are totally different, so it was very exciting to work with someone who had just these ideas [where I didn’t know the references].”
As for Fanning, it was announced last month that she will star alongside Nicole Kidman in a legal thriller series from A24 titled “Discretion.” The project marks their third collaboration, following Sofia Coppola’s “The Beguiled” in 2017 and the upcoming Apple TV+ show “Margo’s Got Money Troubles.”
“Oh my God, I love Nicole to death,” she said. “I love her. We’ve worked three times now in more of an ensemble capacity, and we are friends, and we’ve gotten very close, but now we get to go toe to toe in this one [that was just announced]. It’s a real two-hander, this show.”
“[It was] extremely good,” Skarsgård also told IndieWire of working with Trier. “He sits right beside the camera, and he watches the detail in your performance. He’s after what happens inside the human being, no matter what you say, and that is what I am, too, doing in my acting. It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it.”
Neon will release “Sentimental Value” in select theaters on Friday, November 7. Check out the trailer here.