Day 3 of the Virginia Film Festival could be called Foreign Film Friday. Last night I viewed the Oscar contender from Norway, Sentimental Value, and a festival surprise from Mexico, Dear Sobriety: You’re Killing Me.
Sentimental Value:
Director Joachim Trier’s last film, 2021’s The Worst Person in the World, was nominated for two Oscars and has become one of the best-reviewed films of this century. For Sentimental Value, Trier reteamed with his leading actor from Worst Person, Renate Reinsve, in an ensemble that includes Stellan Skarsgard, Inga Ibdotter Lilleaas, and Elle Fanning.
An additional member of the cast is a two-story house that has been in a single family for three generations, despite a damaged foundation that reveals a split that rises through the ceilings of both floors. The film begins with the death of a matriarch. Her former husband Gustav (Skarsgard), long estranged from his daughters Nora (Reinsve) and Agnes (Lilleas), crashes her wake, setting off a series of emotional events that lead to a remarkable conclusion.
Gustav is a filmmaker who hasn’t directed a movie in fifteen years. When he returns to his former home, it is revealed that his departed ex-wife never filed the paperwork to pass the home onto her daughters. The house belongs to Gustav. Despite his extended break from films, Gustav decides he wants to make a new film in his old house. He asks Nora, a stage actress, to play the lead. She declines, with anger. Nora is alone and has struggled with anxiety and depression, while Agnes has become an academic researcher and is married with one child. When Nora declines, Gustav turns to an American actress named Rachel Kemp (Fanning) to fill the void.
At heart, Sentimental Value is a family drama about a selfish man whose ego and stubbornness stand in the way of reconnecting with his daughters. Skarsgard is perfectly cast as Gustav. Still formidable at 74 years of age, the Swedish actor is decidedly unsentimental in a film with the root word of his affect in the title. A malcontent who puts what he wants first, even if it gets in the way of what he needs: reconciliation. Skarsgard has given more great performances than one can count, and the Oscar buzz behind his performance should result in his first Academy Award nomination.
Reinsve and Lilleas are completely convincing as two sisters whose lives have played out very differently. As good as Rensve is here (very), Lilleas is a revelation. In a role that could have been stagnant or even boring, Lilleas adds a depth to Agnes that I doubt was on the page.
As heavy as Sentimental Value might appear to be, it’s also frequently quite funny. There is one scene between Skarsgard and Fanning where Gustav convinces Rachel that the stool in the kitchen is the one his character’s mother used to hang herself. Shortly after Rachel leaves the room with the weight of this profound revelation evident in her expression, we learn the stool is from IKEA. Even better is Gustav’s DVD gifts to his pre-teen grandson: copies of the X-rated Irreversible and the Piano Teacher, a film about a masochist. “Thank god we don’t have a DVD player,” Agnes says.
If Sentimental Value isn’t as dynamic as The Worst Person in the World, it may be more satisfying. Trier showcases a tonal mastery that never hits a false note. The film also boasts a brilliant ending of life imitating art. Or is it art imitating life? Sentimental Value argues that in this case, there is no meaningful difference.
Sentimental Value hits theaters in limited release on November 7, 2025.
Dear Sobriety: You’re Killing Me:
Aside from having my favorite title of the entire fest, Dear Sobriety: You’re Killing Me is an often hilarious and bracing comedy about addiction. It is rare to see a film introduce a main character like Raffi (the terrific Octavio Hinojosa). Raffi is an unrepentant drug abuser who isn’t just addicted to substances; he’s also addicted to rehab. As the film begins, Raffi is ending his fifth stint in rehab, and at thirty-nine years old, he’s running out of time to sort himself out.
Raffi is selfish, mean, and biting even to the one friend who still cares for him. At first, it’s easy to believe that Raffi’s addiction is centered around a childhood with two toxic parents. While that doesn’t help, the greater truth is a trauma that occurred in his young adulthood, which is slow-walked to a reveal that comes late in the film.
Dear Sobriety asks for the audience’s patience. Were this an American movie, I would imagine that the secret would be revealed earlier, and that Raffi’s behavior would be toned down considerably. Director Raul Campos makes his feature film debut here, and his mastery of tone and belief in the material are exceptional. Still, the film’s ultimate success hinges on Hinojosa’s performance. Even after a stunning deathbed scene near the movie’s end that shows Raffi speaking horrendous words and following up his barbs with behavior far worse, we somehow root for him.
It is the glimmer behind Raffi’s eyes that makes you want to believe he is redeemable. You root for him the way his best friend does, the way the woman who has loved him for years, even after tragedy, looks at him. They remember a sweet, mischievous young man who could be good if he were willing to address his grief and guilt, instead of numbing it with drugs and alcohol. The film’s final sequence builds to what appears to be a happy ending, but the final shot leaves open significant ambiguity. It’s a bold move in a film that is at times uproarious, but never loses sight of the cost of addiction. Dear Sobriety argues that it’s the trying that matters. Nothing is guaranteed, unless you quit. Thus far, it’s the biggest surprise of the festival for me.
Dear Sobriety: You’re Killing Me opens in Mexico in January and will stream in the States later in 2026.
