After making waves at Cannes Film Festival in May with its 15-minute standing ovation (or 19-minute, depending on which clapometer you trust most), the longest for 2025, I knew I had to go out of my way to make sure I saw Sentimental Value.

That rapturous reception put its name on everybody’s lips at the festival – and at the top of the list to win its highest honour, the prestigious Palme D’Or.

And while ultimately that didn’t come to pass (It Was Just an Accident triumphed instead), it was still one of the most impressive and impactful films I saw at Cannes this year, ahead of its screening at the 2025 BFI London Film Festival.

Sentimental Value (Affeksjonsverdi in its native Norway) provides a fascinating window into a dysfunctional family in Oslo and all the hurt they’ve witnessed a

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