In his latest, Joachim Trier's Sentimental Value, Skarsgård gifts us with perhaps his most robust and richest work in the form of Gustav, a once-prominent filmmaker struggling to mend fractured ties with his daughters. On this episode, he details the environment Trier created, through love, attention, and enthusiasm, that laid the tracks for that work to travel.
After many years of absence, the father (Skarsgard) returns to the family home after the death of his ex-wife. He intends to reconcile with his daughters and film a screenplay he has written. He wants to cast his youngest (played by Renate Reinsve), an actress, in the lead role. But she, still angry at him, refuses. And so, he turns to a younger star, played by Elle Fanning.
Stellan Skarsgard described Ingmar Bergman as manipulative and noted his past Nazi sympathies, stating, 'He was a Nazi during the war and the only person I know who cried when Hitler died.' Skarsgard pointed out that Bergman had a strange outlook on people, believing that some were unworthy, which he felt influenced Bergman’s interactions with others.
"I'm not usually proud of things... Joachim's way of working is very special, very beautiful, and quite brave. And it fucking works. That's good."
