Elle Fanning smiling on the red carpet.Image via Doug Peters/PA Images/INSTARimages
A hot contender for the spot that’s typically reserved for international features in the Best Picture category at the Oscars, director Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value is gaining attention on the domestic streaming charts. The movie had a solid theatrical run recently, and debuted on PVOD platforms amid Oscar voting season. As Norway’s official entry, it has made the crucial December shortlist in the Best International Feature category as well, but it’s vying to replicate the success of Trier’s last film, The Worst Person in the World. Released in 2021, that movie scored a Best Original Screenplay nod at the Oscars, in addition to a Best International Feature nomination. Sentimental Value was just as acclaimed, and has already been declared one of 2025’s best movies by several major publications.
According to JustWatch, it was one of the most popular titles on the domestic PVOD charts this week, when Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another topped the rankings. Sentimental Value reunites Trier with his The Worst Person in the World star Renate Reinsve, and frequent collaborator Anders Danielson Lie. The movie also features Elle Fanning and Stellan Skarsgård in a pivotal (and potentially Oscar-worthy) role. Sentimental Value traces themes of generational trauma through the relationship of a young actor and her celebrated filmmaker father, who decides to make a movie about the youth that shaped him. The drama premiered at the Cannes Film Festival to widespread acclaim, and won the prestigious Grand Prix.
‘Sentimental Value’ Is Competing Against Heavy-Hitters in the Oscar Race
It’s now sitting at a near-perfect “certified fresh” 97% critics’ score and “verified hot” 94% audience score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics’ consensus reads, “Deftly exploring the uneasy tension between artistic expression and personal connection, Sentimental Value is a bracingly mature work from writer-director Joachim Trier that’s marvelously acted across the board.” In her review, Collider’s Therese Lacson praised Skarsgård’s performance, and wrote, “A lesser performance would have weakened the movie, but Skarsgård can be both emotionally fragile and even pitiful at times, while also having moments of cutting cruelty and spitefulness. Gustav is a fully fleshed-out character, nuanced in a way that makes him both difficult to love but also difficult to hate.” Sentimental Value’s biggest competitors in the International Feature category at the Oscars are probably Park Chan-wook’s No Other Choice, Jafar Panahi’s It Was Just an Accident, and Óliver Laxe’s Sirāt. You can watch the film at home, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
Release Date
November 7, 2025
Runtime
132 Minutes
Director
Joachim Trier
Writers
Eskil Vogt, Joachim Trier
Producers
Nathanaël Karmitz, Maria Ekerhovd, Elisha Karmitz, Andrea Berentsen Ottmar
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas
Agnes