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A few years back, Joachim Trier did the world a favor and introduced us to Renate Reinsve. So when superfans like me heard Joachim and Renate were reuniting, there was lots of jumping up and down. Renate’s made-for-the-movies face and talent will take anyone’s breath away. I’ve seen her do things on-screen that make my stomach drop and blood pressure rise. She’s a gift from movie heaven, and Joachim and his co-writer Eskil Vogt know how to provide her with material worthy of her talent.


We hit the jackpot with “Sentimental Value.” It’s like being gently grabbed by the most tender filmmaker working today; you don’t know he’s got you by the throat — he’s just creating people and images you cannot look away from for fear of missing a single frame. Joachim and his film family (Kasper Tuxen, Anders Danielsen Lie and Olivier Bugge Coutté, to name a few) have created a story about real families and cinematic families, memories, mothers, sons, sisters and fathers. And if that isn’t enough to get excited about, the cast includes Stellan Skarsgård and Elle Fanning, who have a scene at a dinner table that will make any filmmaker ask themselves, “Am I really satisfied?”


If you like your acting pitch-perfect — this is the film for you. And if you want to see the real best special effect of the year, it’s Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas’ performance as Agnes. Joachim and his cinematic family, in the words of his fictional dad, Gustav Borg, “achieve complete sync between space and time.” Must be something in the Norwegian winter. Whatever it is, I’ll have what they’re having.


So now, like any superfan, I want to ask the most annoying question: “When do we get another one?”


Paul Thomas Anderson has been nominated for 11 Oscars; his credits include “Boogie Nights,” “There Will Be Blood,” “Magnolia” and his current film, “One Battle After Another.”