Sentimental Value

A once-prominent film director whose career is in decline. He uses his divorce to leave Norway and focus on new projects, but his drinking and emotional distance strain his relationship with his daughters. Returning to reclaim the family house, he seeks reconciliation, though his microaggressions and limited emotional intelligence consistently derail conversations. His evolving connection with his grandson Erik reveals a gentler, more hopeful side amid a stubborn quest for artistic redemption.

Gustav’s ex-wife and a psychotherapist who raises Nora and Agnes in their Oslo home. She carries the burden of Gustav’s absence and his drinking, balancing care for her daughters with the demands of her own life. Her death creates a turning point that pushes the sisters to confront their father’s legacy and their own needs for closure.

A fairly successful actress who suffers crippling stage fright and becomes entangled in an affair with her married colleague Jakob. Her relationship with Gustav is strained by his inconsistent presence and his shift of attention to Rachel. Nora’s arc moves from resistance to reluctant engagement with the family project and, ultimately, a path toward reconciliation.

A historian married with a son who remains more sympathetic to Gustav. She confronts the tensions of being connected to her father’s artistic ambitions while managing her own life and the expectations of her son. Agnes plays a crucial role in uncovering family history at the National Archives and reflecting on the emotional resonance of the past.

Agnes’s young son, with whom Gustav forms a warmer, more approachable bond. Gustav primarily connects with Erik through cinema, highlighting a gentler dynamic in contrast to his fraught relationships with Nora and Agnes.

An American actress hired to replace Nora in Gustav’s project. Her stardom and language barrier create friction as she relies on Gustav to translate the English script. She ultimately quits the film, exposing the fragility of artistic control and the personal costs of high-profile productions.

Nora’s married colleague who divorces his wife but does not commit to Nora. His relationship with Nora adds complexity to her character’s emotional life and contributes to her sense of being tethered between personal desire and professional obligations.

Gustav’s mother, a member of the Norwegian resistance who was tortured during the Nazi occupation and who ultimately died by suicide in the family home. Her trauma becomes a central source of the family’s hidden history and a catalyst for Gustav’s film project.