“Tenderness is the new punk,” filmmaker Joachim Trier declared this summer while debuting his highly-anticipated feature “Sentimental Value” at the Cannes Film Festival.
In his follow-up to the Oscar-winning “The Worst Person in the World,” the Swedish director imbues that sentiment in a family drama centered around two sisters forced to confront their relationship to an estranged father once he resurfaces following the death of their mother.
“I’m now pondering like, what is the provocative counter position to a world where everything is very aggressive and divided? And I thought that maybe now tenderness is the new punk, that we actually need to listen to each other,” Trier said at the New York premiere of “Sentimental Value” Tuesday night at Alice Tully Hall.
“I made a film about reconciliation, you know, and a family. But I think about that in a bigger way as something we need to think about—listen to each other and not make the other the enemy.”
Trier returned to Lincoln Center for the 63rd annual New York Film Festival with “Worst Person” breakout Renate Reinsve, who plays one of the sisters, Nora. Reinsve’s character is an actor too, though mostly of the stage, and is surprised to hear that her filmmaker father, played by Stellan Skarsgård, has returned with a script written with her in mind for the lead role.
Skarsgård’s Gustav must turn his attention to starlet Rachel Kemp, played by Elle Fanning, after Nora refuses to attach herself to the project. Fanning said she enjoyed the task of playing a sought-after Hollywood star.
“It was honestly like a very cathartic experience then kind of playing her, even though she’s different than me,” Fanning explained. She, too, was happy to bring to life Trier’s message.
“I do think what’s so beautiful is like the healing power of art that this movie’s a lot about—what you can’t say, what’s unsaid, but through art and through filmmaking, they’re able to heal,” Fanning said.
Trier and Reinsve first captured the love of a New York audience four years ago when they brought “Worst Person” to the annual film festival. Reunited again for a third time, the director and actor have helped shine a massive light on their home country.
“I feel like something is stirring in Norway right now. Artists in Norway are getting some confidence in making their stories, because Joachim was actually the first one that started fighting for making his kind of movies and it’s really really hard,” Reinsve said. “It’s a very exciting place to be right now.”
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, who plays Nora’s sister Agnes, and a newcomer to many audiences, has already received critical praise for her work among this talented assemble.
“She’s so good and she’s so sincere and she brings so much, truth and fullness to her acting,” Reinsve said of her co-star.
“Sentimental Value” is playing at the New York Film Festival before opening in theaters on Nov. 7.
Getty Images
Getty Images
Eskil Vogt, Elle Fanning, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Stellan Skarsgård, Renate Reinsve, Joachim Trier and Dennis Lim attend the “Sentimental Value” Intro/Q&A during the 63rd New York Film Festival at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center on September 30, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Arturo Holmes/Getty Images for FLC)