Passes the Bechdel test
Sentimental Value
2025. Directed by Joachim Trier, written by Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
17 women characters. 18 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 15 scenes out of 194. -
Yes
3. About something besides a man
In those scenes, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.
Second opinion
Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 3 out of 3.
The film
Sisters Nora and Agnes reunite with their estranged father, the charismatic Gustav, a once-renowned director who offers stage actress Nora a role in what he hopes will be his comeback film. When Nora turns it down, she soon discovers he has given her part to an eager young Hollywood star. Suddenly, the two sisters must navigate their complicated relationship with their father -- and deal with an American star dropped right into the middle of their complex family dynamics.
- Released
- 20 Aug 2025
- Genres
- Drama
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 7.7 / 10
- Metascore
- 86 / 100
- Awards
- Won 1 Oscar. 84 wins & 314 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Gustav 279 lines, man
- Nora 180 lines, woman
- Agnes 130 lines, woman
- Rachel 99 lines, woman
- Narrator 42 lines, woman
- Christophe 32 lines, man
- Even 25 lines, man
- Erik 18 lines, man
- Jakob 18 lines, man
- Ingrid 16 lines, woman
Full cast, 72 people
- Renate Reinsve as Nora Borg
- Stellan Skarsgård as Gustav Borg
- Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas as Agnes Borg Pettersen
- Elle Fanning as Rachel Kemp
- Anders Danielsen Lie as Jakob
- Jesper Christensen as Michael
- Lena Endre as Ingrid Berger
- Cory Michael Smith as Sam
- Catherine Cohen as Nicky
- Andreas Stoltenberg Granerud as Even
- Øyvind Hesjedal Loven as Erik
- Lars Väringer as Peter
- Ida Marianne Vassbotn Klasson as Sissel Borg
- Vilde Søyland as Karin Borg
- Sigrid Lorentzen Abelsnes as Karin Irgens (Child)
- Mari Strand Ferstad as Edith Irgens
- Eiril Tormodsdatter Solberg as Edith Irgens (Child)
- Julia Küster as Lillian
- Olivia Thompson as Nora Borg (Pre-teen)
- Iben Policer Havnevik as Nora Borg (Child)
- Irma Trier as Nora Borg (Child)
- Ibi Trier as Nora Borg (Baby)
- Knut Rørtveit as Gustav Borg (Young Adult)
- Nicholas Bergh as Gustav Borg (Young Adult)
- Aasmund Almdahl as Gustav Borg (Teenager)
- Emmet Øverland Crompton as Gustav Borg (Child)
- Ida Atlanta Kyllingmark Giertsen as Agnes Borg (Pre-teen)
- Julie Østhagen as Agnes Borg (Child)
- Ingunn Beate Øyen as Therese
- Pia Borgli as Thea
- Tuva Skorpen Nielsen as Kamilla
- Gard Løkke as William
- Per Miljeteig as Man at Funeral
- Amalie Ibsen Jensen as Stage Manager (Theatre)
- Håkon Mathias Vassvik as Sound Technician (Theatre)
- Yngvar Nielsen Skuland as Scene Technician (Theatre)
- Torunn Meyer as Costume Technician (Theatre)
- Kristine Utne Stiberg as Costume Technician (Theatre)
- Hooman Sharifi as Director (Theatre)
- Stine Fevik as Olivia (Theatre Director)
- Seda Witt as Actor Ensemble (Theatre)
- Vetle Bergan as Actor Ensemble (Theatre)
- Olav Waastad as Actor Ensemble (Theatre)
- Deniz Kaya as Actor Ensemble (Theatre)
- Liv Bernhoft Osa as Actor Ensemble (Theatre)
- Håkon Ramstad as Actor Ensemble (Theatre)
- Øystein Røger as Actor Ensemble (Theatre)
- Torbjørn Davidsen as Actor Ensemble (Theatre)
- Per Bogstad Gulliksen as Actor Ensemble (Theatre)
- Lazare Gousseau as Christophe
- Alix Poisson as Nathalie
- Camille Constantin Da Silva as Nathalie's Assistant
- Rémi Alexandre as Rachel's Bodyguard
- Vincent Le Prêtre as French Waiter
- Jonas Jacobsen as Anders
- Martha Kjørven as Gustav's Assistant
- Mikkel Knutsen Bjaadal as Dark Haired Boy ('Anna')
- Ingrid Jørgensen Dragland as Woman on Train ('Anna')
- Bjørn Alexander as Stian
- Ingrid Vollan as Sissel's Client
- Gunnar Strand as Archivist
- Mone Mikkelsen as Archivist
- Mona Huang Høivik as Waitress
- Sacha Slengesol Balgobin as Nurse
- Haakon Norum Albech as Lennart Borg
- Erling Eggen as Edvard Irgens
- Kirsten Kvalø as Signe Irgens
- Elin Vidovic as Young Karin's Friend
- Live Frøysnes as Young Karin's Friend
- Tord Moberg as Carpenter
- Bente Børsum as Narrator (voice)
- Parham Nikseresht as Journalist
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 5 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 4% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 194
Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.
Show the numbers
| Scenes | Women's lines | Men's lines |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 5 | 4 | 0 |
| 6 to 10 | 7 | 0 |
| 11 to 15 | 4 | 0 |
| 16 to 20 | 5 | 0 |
| 21 to 25 | 4 | 0 |
| 26 to 30 | 10 | 3 |
| 31 to 35 | 7 | 0 |
| 36 to 40 | 1 | 0 |
| 41 to 45 | 11 | 4 |
| 46 to 50 | 2 | 0 |
| 51 to 55 | 5 | 0 |
| 56 to 60 | 4 | 0 |
| 61 to 65 | 4 | 2 |
| 66 to 70 | 5 | 2 |
| 71 to 75 | 55 | 47 |
| 76 to 80 | 5 | 43 |
| 81 to 85 | 18 | 38 |
| 86 to 90 | 50 | 34 |
| 91 to 95 | 6 | 8 |
| 96 to 100 | 11 | 2 |
| 101 to 105 | 3 | 1 |
| 106 to 110 | 31 | 0 |
| 111 to 115 | 31 | 34 |
| 116 to 120 | 36 | 39 |
| 121 to 125 | 24 | 33 |
| 126 to 130 | 0 | 0 |
| 131 to 135 | 0 | 19 |
| 136 to 140 | 42 | 15 |
| 141 to 145 | 15 | 7 |
| 146 to 150 | 15 | 16 |
| 151 to 155 | 3 | 0 |
| 156 to 160 | 6 | 10 |
| 161 to 165 | 8 | 1 |
| 166 to 170 | 16 | 15 |
| 171 to 175 | 25 | 0 |
| 176 to 180 | 5 | 0 |
| 181 to 185 | 23 | 24 |
| 186 to 190 | 1 | 0 |
| 191 to 194 | 2 | 10 |
The evidence
- Straight from the script
- Counted from the script and the credits
Tap an exhibit to open it.
Exhibit A: the passing scenes
The scene our parser counted as passing, word for word.
STAGE MANAGER: Nora? Nora! NORA: No!
STAGE TECHNICIAN: Sorry. NORA: I don't know what to say. NORA: Can you hear me? Listen! NORA: You said you wanted to save me, but all you did was chase me into the flames.
NORA: We should have just ordered catering. I knew it was going to be stressful. AGNES: Not now. NORA: Oh come on, not now.
THEA: That was such a beautiful speech you held. S NORA: Thank you, it was on behalf of both of us. THEA: She was so proud of you. She talked about it all the time.
NICKY: We already ordered. Would you like something? RACHEL: Your film... it really struck me... it was so touching.
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 55 are women's.
504 lines from women, 407 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
17 women and 15 men in the cast. 18 women and 7 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 2 of 950.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 41 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 59% of the words (6,230), men 41% (4,304). Women have 55% of the lines, so their lines run longer than men's.
Exhibit E: the test the other way
Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.
Conversations between two named characters
Two women
45
Two men
26
Exhibit F: behind the camera
6 of the 12 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 41% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Joachim Trier (man)
- Written by
- Eskil Vogt (man), Joachim Trier (man)
- Produced by
- Maria Ekerhovd (woman), Andrea Berentsen Ottmar (woman)
- Shot by
- Kasper Tuxen (man)
- Edited by
- Olivier Bugge Coutté (man)
- Music by
- Hania Rani (woman)
- Production design by
- Jørgen Stangebye Larsen (man)
- Costumes by
- Ellen Ystehede (woman)
- Cast by
- Avy Kaufman (woman), Yngvill Kolset Haga (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Production
15 women, 18 men, 8 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
5 women, 0 men, 6 not listed
-
Art
4 women, 1 men, 4 not listed
-
Sound
2 women, 4 men, 1 not listed
-
Other crew
1 women, 5 men
-
Visual Effects
0 women, 3 men, 3 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 4 men, 1 not listed
-
Directing
1 women, 2 men, 2 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 41 on average. Men: 55 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Elle Fanning 27, Catherine Cohen 34, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas 36, Renate Reinsve 37, Lena Endre 70
Men
Cory Michael Smith 38, Andreas Stoltenberg Granerud 38, Anders Danielsen Lie 46, Stellan Skarsgård 74, Jesper Christensen 77
Exhibit H: the money
It made 3.1 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $7.8 million
- Box office
- $23.9 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 194 scenes and 950 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
