Category: norway

Movie Review – Sentimental Value

Sentimental Value (2025)
Written by Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier
Directed by Joachim Trier

It is becoming increasingly harder to find humanity on the screen in the 21st century. It started when finance conquered Hollywood in a hostile takeover. For a long time, there were a considerable number of studio heads who balanced the commerce of film with artistry. That battle was completely lost by the end of the 2010s. With AI coming into proliferation, we’re now gazing out at a bleak landscape of soulless content that will make the commercialism of the 1980s look quaint by comparison. Yet this list of films I’ve been working on is full of filmmakers I believe are trying their best to maintain a sense of humanity in cinema. Their work does not make much money and is not seen by as many eyes as most of the films in your local multiplex, but they express ideas and themes that are essential to examine if we are to understand what it means to be human.

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Movie Review – Sick of Myself

Sick of Myself (2022)
Written & Directed by Kristoffer Borgli

Having a positive, productive relationship in the current modern context seems challenging. I got married in 2011 and, thankfully, since then, haven’t had to dip my toe back in the dating pool. I am lucky that I have an incredibly supportive partner, and we have just grown closer as the years pass by. For some couples, the pandemic was a moment where the relationship collapsed; for us, we were strengthened. I don’t think this is because we are exceptional in any way. We actively listen to the other person and absorb what they say. We still have arguments, though we don’t let them go beyond the moment they happen. This is a partnership where everyone has to come to the table with a win-win mindset. Anything else is just going to lead to dysfunction.

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