Four years after he was nominated for the Best Original Screenplay Academy Award for The Worst Person in the World in 2022, Joachim Trier finds his name on the 2026 Oscar nominations list twice, both for Best Original Screenplay and Best Director. This time, it’s his work writing and making Sentimental Value that the Academy has deemed worthy of appreciation.
As every review of the movie notes, Sentimental Value showcases its director and screenwriter’s ability to evoke emotions with silence, using touching cinematography and allowing the actors to showcase their craft. Performances take the center stage in all his works, which are also characterized by a few indulgent but well-deserved sequences of cinematic trickery, especially employing stylish and dreamy editing.
After directing what is arguably the best movie at the Cannes Film Festival in 2025, Trier has finally become a staple in conversations about the most promising directors working today, especially because Sentimental Value followed up the widely popular The Worst Person in the World. However, Trier’s filmography remains largely underrated, and few know he once directed a superhero movie.
Joachim Trier Made Thelma In 2017
In 2017, continuing his break from his Oslo trilogy, Joachim Trier made his only fantasy movie to date. Titled Thelma, the movie follows college student Thelma’s road to discovering her dormant superpowers after a few inciting incidents during her stay at the university campus makes her return home with questions. The movie stars Eili Harboe as the titular protagonist, Thelma.
Thelma had a secluded childhood living with her parents in a house significantly removed from the main town, and her time at college marked her first instance of developing a social life. While she has the same familiar and comparatively unremarkable experiences that most of us have had as college students, a few strange occurrences around her make her suspicious.
Thelma is one of the most original superhero films made in recent years, but it failed to make headlines due to a limited global theatrical run. Trier would have to wait four more years before finding universal critical acclaim for making The Worst Person in the World, one of the best comedy movies of the decade between 2015 and 2024.
Thelma Explores Childhood Trauma
Every time Thelma has a seizure and unknowingly uses her powers, birds come crashing into windows, but she doesn’t know more about her powers than their obvious link to nature. After a gruelling session with a doctor who studies her brain activity after triggering her powers to activate, Thelma unlocks repressed childhood memories that reveal she’s always had her powers.
With a well-timed expository flashback, Joachim Trier takes viewers on a harrowing trip through Thelma’s childhood, most notably characterized by a shocking moment that makes you gasp, involving the death of a toddler. Thelma’s plot revolves around the titular character’s journey of realizing the level of religious trauma inflicted on her by her parents before deciding to choose her freedom.
Thelma’s Queer Themes Explained
The use of religious themes in the film is perfectly complemented by the titular character’s other primary arc. She starts developing feelings for her female classmate, and every time she feels romantic or sexual attraction or affection for her, Thelma’s powers wreak havoc. When Thelma lets go of her internalized shame and accepts herself, she’s able to control her powers.
Since her dormant powers are triggered by a queer experience, they are clearly linked to her sense of self. So, when her homophobic and religious indoctrination no longer has a hold on her, Thelma finds herself in the driving seat. Thelma’s portrayal of the internal conflict that any queer awakening triggers makes it one of the best LGBTQ+ horror movies.
Thelma Is Essentially A Coming-Of-Age Movie
The best superhero movies have strong origin stories, and many superhero films even focus on the specific experiences of a hero discovering and using their powers for good. Thelma is no exception, except the movie ends with the titular protagonist’s personal crusade and doesn’t follow her through any arcs of becoming a superhero for the general good of the world.
So, Thelma is more a coming-of-age story about a woman who uncovers her dark past and finds a way to move forward without letting her past define her, while still carrying meaningful lessons she’s learned from her childhood experiences. Revisiting her home is not just a means of uncovering her past, but also of burying it and healing from it.
Thelma’s Superpowers Are Metaphorical
This is by no means a trait unique to Thelma as many superheroes and comic book characters have powers that symbolically represent specific elements of reality and address social situations through their character arcs. However, Thelma’s metaphor stands out in a sea of generic storytelling because queerness is rarely explored so explicitly via metaphor in the superhero and fantasy genres.