Sentimental Value

This is a film that sets out to make you feel things, but does it with seeming effortlessness, so you never feel like big moments are being signposted.

The tone is rich and sophisticated. Shadows of childhood tragedy and adult mis-steps fall across the drama. Sorrow is often in the air. This in no way sits oddly with a number of excellent jokes, including a doozy about Ikea.

The story shapes up as a meditation on the sentimental value of art itself.

This is ultimately a rich, engrossing, deeply moving tale of what happens when family becomes fodder for art.