In the lead-up to the 2026 Academy Awards, many people try to watch all 10 Best Picture nominees to see which movies should be considered the best of the year. However, with the time that it takes to find and watch all of the films, it can be easy to miss a film and then have no idea why it was nominated for Best Picture. But now, you do not have to worry about missing a nominee: the “Road to the Oscars” articles have begun! Over the next two weeks, I will be watching and writing reviews for all 10 Best Picture nominees so that you, faithful Justice readers, can hear my opinions about the films and gain some insight into why each movie was nominated. These reviews will be published primarily on the website, but here in print is our first pairing, so you can read my thoughts.

Spoilers ahead for “Train Dreams” and “Sentimental Value.”

“Sentimental Value” — Dir. Joachim Trier

“Sentimental Value” is a wonderfully layered Norwegian film about forgiveness and rebuilding a family that has been broken for years. The film feels like a camera is peering into the private events of this family’s everyday lives, slowly revealing their darkest secrets through casual and deep conversations that are almost stumbled upon by the camera. Trauma, betrayal and disappointment run rampant throughout the characters’ lives. Stellan Skarsgård plays Gustav Borg, an aging filmmaker and the father of Nora and Agnes — played by Renate Reinsve and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, respectively. The audience is told in an opening narration about when the sisters were younger and how happy life was until Gustav and his wife began fighting and he left the family. Nora in particular wants nothing to do with Gustav. However, upon their mother’s death, Gustav comes to the reception and begins trying to rebuild his relationship with his daughters. 

The dynamics between Gustav and Nora are very well portrayed, with so much emotional depth coming from both actors. Even though Nora despises Gustav, there is a wonderful moment where the two characters spend a quiet moment outside smoking, briefly looking at each other and smiling gently, before going back inside and Nora’s frustration with her father’s abandonment bubbles back to the surface. No character in this story is one-sided or feels shallow. That is “Sentimental Value’s” biggest strength: the depth of its characters and their relationships to one another. 

The central conflict of the film is the script that Gustav has written and wants Nora to star in. As the film progresses, the audience learns that many elements of the script are taken from Gustav’s past, merging Nora’s story of sadness and pain with that of Gustav’s mother’s life after she survived Auschwitz. The audience is never told the full story of this script, but we see every character who reads it react with shock and quiet awe because of its beauty. Another strength of “Sentimental Value” is that it does not fear silence. There are many moments where characters just sit and think for a moment while there is a close-up on them for the entire time. The film uses a lot of close-up and mid-length shots in the cinematography, which adds to the feeling that the viewer is peering into this family’s personal life. 

Another standout character for me was Elle Fanning’s portrayal of Rachel. Rachel is an American actress whom Gustav hires when Nora won’t touch his script. Rachel’s curiosity and desire to correctly portray the character that Gustav wrote result in many scenes where Gustav almost treats Rachel as a new daughter, since that’s who he wrote the character for in the first place. The process of rehearsing for the film has two of my favorite scenes from the entire movie, as Gustav directs Rachel and shows her his vision for the script. He describes the final scene of his script, and it ends up shot-for-shot being the same ending as “Sentimental Value” itself. 

Although there are a lot of amazing things about the film, it did have some flaws that I would be remiss in ignoring. There are several time jumps throughout the film — not large ones, but noticeable enough that sometimes it could be a little jarring. By the end, it became clear that a “fade to black” meant that we were going to jump forward, but at first, that wasn’t apparent and would take me out of the story momentarily. I also found that there were moments where I couldn’t tell if we were in the same house as most of the film takes place in or an entirely different house, due to similar-looking sets that disoriented me at a couple of points throughout the film. Generally, however, “Sentimental Value” is a must-watch. The performances from everyone are fantastic — even though I didn’t touch on Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas’ performance, she was spectacular — and the themes of death, redemption, anger and care are scattered throughout this film that absolutely deserves its nomination.

The movie has amazing depth and nuance, with beautifully written characters and emotional scenes, but some editing choices took me out of what is otherwise a deeply impactful story.

“Train Dreams” — Dir. Clint Bentley

Before seeing its name on the list of 2026 nominees, I had never heard of “Train Dreams.” Now that I’ve seen the movie, I am appalled at how few people are talking about it. The film is narrated in a similar way to a children’s book, with an omniscient narrator — voiced by Will Patton — jumping in to tell the story at points and then letting scenes play out for a while before recentering the focus of the story, telling us what Robert Grainier — played by Joel Edgerton — is thinking as scenes transition or crucial events happen. The film follows Robert through his life from pre-teen to his death as an older man. Robert becomes a logger in the Pacific Northwest, helping cut down trees and build railroads to make the United States more accessible. The film starts around 1917, when a lot of wood was harvested not only for the railroad but also to support the war effort. The main focus of the story is the toll that logging has on Robert mentally and physically, as well as the effects it has on the environment. The film is not shy about how dangerous the world was in the early 20th century, and it also very effectively shows how quickly innovation and industrialization made old tools obsolete. 

Every logging season, Robert has to leave his life behind — a cabin by a lake that he built with his wife Gladys, played by Felicity Jones — and, eventually, his child Kate. The chemistry between Grainier and Jones is electric, and their relationship is beautifully written. The film doesn’t have a dramatic blow-out fight between the couple, but instead focuses on how they both want to figure out how to keep Robert at home for longer periods of time, while also knowing that his logging job is the best way for them to get money. Every time that Robert needs to leave, the audience sits and wants him to stay at home almost as much as Gladys and Robert do. I kept expecting Robert to come back and for Gladys to have just left, or for them to explode at each other in a way many other Hollywood films have done, but I was pleasantly surprised that “Train Dreams” avoided that particular trope.  

The film also tackles the racism of the era in a unique way. Robert is shown from the very start to be confused about racism when he witnesses a group of Chinese people being shepherded out of a local store because they weren’t allowed to be there. But the event that comes to haunt Robert for the entire film is when a Chinese train worker is thrown off a bridge that the laborers were working on. Robert asks what the man had done and gets no response, watching dumbfounded as a few of the other men throw him. This single event stays with Robert for the rest of the film, as the man who was thrown off appears in Robert’s dreams and as a hallucination at several points. The narrator of Robert’s thoughts describes how Robert believes every tragic and bad occurrence in his life after that moment is the universe exacting its revenge because he did not save that man, and there is a lot of tragedy in this film.

There is an almost Wes Anderson-esque energy to some moments in the film, with very unique and specific camera angles that hold their position for extended periods of time and characters that are all very uniquely quirky and identifiable, yet also not unrealistic. “Train Dreams” has been nominated for “Best Cinematography” along with “Best Picture,” and it deserves that nomination fully. From the very beginning of the film, the camera work is very thoughtful and artistic, with a fantastic variety of framing, angles, and color grading. Every frame feels like an art piece. 

The production quality of this film is outstanding. The script is heart-wrenching and beautiful, the setting is stunning, and the acting is very strong. How “Train Dreams” encapsulates love, pain, desperation, and loneliness so fully is beyond me. Robert spends a lifetime waiting, trying to figure out where he belongs in the world, making beautiful connections while experiencing horrible losses. The script has thought-provoking conversations between characters that get the viewer to think alongside Robert about when it is time to move on to the next big thing. By the end of Robert’s journey, you realize how beautiful an individual’s life can be, even with simple memories of people’s faces, special places and those moments that let the world be yours.

“Train Dreams” is an amazing spectacle that should be talked about more. I was so invested in Robert’s story the entire time, even though it took some time for the story to feel more connected and less like a list of events. The acting and cinematography are beautiful, bolstered by a wonderful script.  

With awards season around the corner, I hope that this series of reviews helps you feel more informed about the nominated films! Check the online edition of The Justice for more Oscar reviews, and let’s start watching!