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A house goes through a lot before one can call it a home, and even upon completion a home becoming welcoming is something entirely different. For Joachim Trier, a filmmaker who continuous to search for the humanistic approach to pain, a home is neither a safe haven nor a prison, but instead a amalgamation of past present and future. A place that holds all that came before and everyone living in it now creating their own mistakes and regrets. Now all this may seem a little too schmaltzy this side of a forgotten Robert Zemeckis film, but fear not as SENTIMENTAL VALUE, the latest from the Norwegian director, is a gentle embrace that never forgets the pain and distance that comes from generational trauma. A film that wants to be a warm hug while perfectly understanding the irony of receiving solace from someone who was never around all the years you needed that hug. It is also just a film deep in its characters’ roots bringing out every fiber of their emotional being to light all while keeping them apart knowing they are magnets that will find each other and snap together no matter the era. With SENTIMENAL VALUE trier may have given his most compassionate film yet and one that can be seen as the least rough around the edges and still it manages to be not just a of forgiveness through art but also an intolerance of those that think they can just show up one day, say sorry and be welcomed back into your home.

The curtains have lifted, the lights are down and the show is about to begin. The only issue is that the star refuses to go on. Nora (Renate Reinsve) appears to be prone to on stage fright that quickly morphs deeper into panic attacks. Even after managing to find herself able to go on stage (after a both intense and humorous interaction with her co-star) Nora is riddled with panic and who could blame her. Her absent father Gustav Borg (Stellan Skarsgard) has re-entered her life after the death of her mother. Borg a world famous director never found the time for Nora and her sister Agnes (Inga Ibsdotter Lileaas in a star making performance) amongst all his idolization for both provocative and emotional storytelling. Above all this Gustav has a new script for his first film in several decades that he wants Nora to star in. In his words “she is the only one who can play the part” something Nora scoffs at as her father has never seen her act in any of her plays or ongoing show. For Gustav Nora’s career is dedicated to centuries old plays when her true calling needs to be in modern storytelling or more specifically his storytelling. Skarsgard as Borg balances a tricky line of being just intriguing enough that you can see how his charm as a filmmaker takes over, and yet you can easily look past the façade and see a man that appears selfish and mostly full of shit. An artist in other words. It helps that Skarsgard a lifelong artist channels that same idea of aging and seeing his own former collaborators be victim to time and aging. Reinsve, who led Trier’s millennial coming of age knock out “The Worst person in the World” harbors a pain that Nora believes to be silent but is screaming out with every groan or eye roll she sends her father’s way.

When your daughter has no desire to be in your film the next best thing in Gustav’s eyes to create his own daughter or at least find a stand in. One of the most engaging factors of SENTIMENTAL VALUE is that even the most cold hearted actions feel authentic and naturally progressive to the point that you understand the character’s motivations. When Gustav cast Hollywood icon Rachel Kemp (Elle Fanning) in the role Nora rejected it is obvious that Rachel is not just a replacement in Gustav’s film but another chance at fatherhood. Fanning as Rachel feels ripped out of the headlines of the type of role you’d expect Fanning herself to play or something she would have first discovered through Sofia Coppola. The striking emotion though is not through Gustav’s attempt to nurture and protect Rachel, but rather Rachel’s desire to get to know Nora and Agnes deeper not just to better understand them but possibly allow them to come back deeper into their father’s life. Gustav’s script may be written in ode to his late mother who took her own life when Gustav was just a boy, but Trier has something more observant in store that doesn’t just shock but painfully and beautifully depicts a father’s and artists’ understanding of someone else’s pain.

There is a feeling throughout SENTIMENTAL VALUE that this is a film that doesn’t necessarily repeat itself (although many scenes find themselves in limited locations at times) but continuously hone on its ideas that moving past any trauma from one’s own family is impossible on your own. Trier divides his film into separation and attachment allowing each character to find its own journey which doesn’t always bring anyone closer as it purposely wants their characters to work through this with each other. Even when Agnes’ story involves her diving deeper into her grandmother’s suicide there is only so much that information can give her until she has to return to her father and even more so his new script tackling all their family history and ongoing issues. Ibsdotter Lileaas is the best surprise of the film as her performance of Agnes and the way Trier displays her pain is both something that has to be kept hidden in order to be a liaison between her sister and father. And even with this self-imposed role Trier always sees Agnes as the the one allowed to express the least while her father and sister go on a rampage of self-destruction and reevaluation. It is an incredibly heartbreaking role for anyone to swallow especially for those that have found themselves in familiar circumstances.

But even with a sense of going through the motions (or emotions if you will) SENTIMENTAL VALUE does want to see itself through as opposed to the many recent dramas that create the scenario and leave you doing the work. Trier’s script knows that forgiveness isn’t a single word and even actions can only mean so much. What Trier does allow is for each individual to take their own time to reach some form of acceptance that the past doesn’t have to dictate everything. The film does this in a sense that isn’t overnight (although its constant cut to black editing may seem like that) but instead allow time to become just a replacement for actual progression. There is no telling how long SENTIMENTAL VALUE takes place over (those familiar with how long it takes a film to greenlit may know better) but what is certain is that even when Nora and Gustav find a way to channel their love and frustration it is thanks to the third party of art and performance. SENTIMENTAL VALUE wonderfully understands how far art can take us and its cathartic power. It doesn’t mean that all is well that ends well, but in creating a film it also creates something lasting that nobody can take away. This same ideology can latch onto any form of forgiveness Nora and Agnes have for Gustav. Where it goes from there is not for us to obtain, the family has come home and the doors are closed on us.

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SENTIMENTAL VALUE WILL BE RELEASED IN NY/LA THEATERS NOVEMBER 7. IT WILL RECEIVE A WIDE ROLLOUT THROUGHOUT NOVEMBER BEGINNING NOVEMBER 14 FROM NEON.