The Deep Focus: Oslo, August 31st is a 3 week program dedicated to how Joachim Trier builds meaning through form in that film and applying what you’ve learned to Sentimental Value.
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Most of us feel when something in a film hits — but don’t always know what to look for to understand why.
That’s especially true with films like Sentimental Value.
Sentimental Value received…
1 Oscar,
9 Oscar nominations,
Barack Obama’s seal of approval,
and most of the European Film Awards.
But it’s not Joachim Trier’s first masterpiece.
That was Oslo, August 31st (2011).
And it turns out to be the key to reading Sentimental Value — not just thematically, but in how the film is built.
That’s why The Deep Focus starts with Oslo, August 31st — and then uses those insights to see Sentimental Value in a completely new way.
It will change what you notice when you watch a film — even if you’re not a Trier devotee.
On the surface, these films seem straightforward:
Sentimental Value tells a story about family reconciliation.
Oslo, August 31st tells a story about someone who feels hopeless.
But they don’t quite reduce to that.
Sentimental Value is comforting — but the reconciliation it depicts has limitations.
Oslo, August 31st is a tragedy — but it’s also one that offers the audience hope.
That kind of double meaning only becomes visible when you look beyond the plot and dialogue.
It comes from something harder to see: the film’s form — how Trier uses image, sound, and structure to create meaning.
The better the film, the easier it is to miss what the director’s doing.
It isn’t underlined in red ink.
It’s just felt.
Take the prologue of Oslo, August 31st.
It’s fast-paced and dense, but one line stands out:
“How he insisted melancholy was cooler than nostalgic.”
It’s a great line.
But notice what happens around it.
In just a few seconds, you see three images of someone running away — from you.
There’s a particular melancholy to watching someone run away from you once.
Seeing it three times deepens that feeling.
Now hold that pattern in your mind.
In the prologue of Sentimental Value, you see the same pattern again: three images of someone leaving.
This time, it’s Nora’s father.
Once again, you’re watching from a distance — but now through glass.
In both films, someone walks, runs, or drives away from you.
That echo isn’t accidental.
But notice what changes.
In Oslo, August 31st, those images aren’t tied to any one character.
We never find out who those people are, so the feeling isn’t personal.
It becomes something shared.
So even before we meet Anders, that feeling doesn’t belong to him alone.
In Sentimental Value, the same pattern returns — but now it’s attached to Nora’s father.
The words suggest relief: When her father left for good, the house grew lighter.
But the images carry something closer to loss.
Both are true at once.
It’s why Nora’s father’s return is still fraught.
That tension isn’t in the plot.
It comes from how the images and the voiceover pull against each other.
And we’ve only looked at a few seconds of screen time.
Just the images. And the words that accompany them.
We haven’t even touched the sound.
Or how long Trier lets us sit with each moment.
Or how he moves from one image to the next.
What else might you notice if you zoom in on more of Oslo?
How might that shift what you see in Sentimental Value?
And what starts to change about how you watch, the next time you sit down with a film?
The Deep Focus is a chance to stay with a film a little longer…
…and see how the film opens up when you do.
We start with Oslo — digging in to key moments, beginning with the prologue.
Then, you’ll return to Sentimental Value with a completely new set of eyes.
I won’t tell you what to think.
But I will show you where to look and ask questions that open the films up.
It runs from April 9–30.
Only 20 seats available.
Two access/concessions seats available — details in the FAQ.
Hi, I’m Alex Heeney: film critic, educator, and Joachim Trier scholar.
I’ve been studying Trier’s work for more than a decade — and now writing a book about his work.
Think of me as a sidekick saying:
Notice this…ponder that…connect these dots…
What took me more than ten years of research and rewatching to uncover in Trier’s work, you’ll begin discovering in three weeks.
As featured in…
The Deep Focus unfolds in four guided steps over three weeks:
1. Start with the prologue of Oslo, August 31st (a dense montage)
2. Follow the prologue’s echoes through Oslo, August 31st
3. Zoom in on the ending of Oslo (a long take)
4. Connect the dots from Oslo to Sentimental Value
Here’s what those steps look like:
1. Start with the prologue of Oslo, August 31st (a dense montage)
In this 90-minute live workshop, we’ll slow the prologue down — sometimes watching just a few seconds at a time — to see how it works.
I’ll guide your attention to the details that matter most, so you can see how images, sound, and editing shape what you feel.
Along the way, I’ll introduce questions that open the scene up in new ways.
👉 Thursday, April 9, 7:00 – 8:30 PM ET. The workshop will be recorded.
2. Follow the prologue’s echoes through Oslo, August 31st
A written guide walks you through two key sequences that echo the film’s prologue.
This is where you start applying the same approach we used in the first workshop.
I’ll still direct your attention to what matters — and help you connect what you’re seeing to the film as a whole.
If something sparks a question or a new observation, you can bring it into the Group Space, and we’ll think it through together.
👉 The guide drops the day after Live Workshop #1 (April 10 at 7:00 PM ET).
3. Zoom in on the ending of Oslo, August 31st (a long take)
A second live (recorded) 90-minute workshop focuses on the film’s final sequence.
Where the opening is a fast montage, the ending is the opposite — a single long take with very little dialogue — which means we unpack it differently.
We’ll break the scene down into beats — looking at how small shifts shape what you feel.
We’ll consider how it contrasts with the opening — and what that shift reveals.
👉 Sunday, April 19, 2:30 – 4:00 PM ET. The workshop will be recorded.
4. Connect the dots from Oslo to Sentimental Value
This is where you apply the approaches we developed in the workshops to the prologue and ending of Sentimental Value.
Like Oslo, Sentimental Value begins with a dense montage and ends with a long take — which makes those approaches transferable.
Because Sentimental Value adds some new layers, a written guide walks you through it.
👉 The guide drops the day after Live Workshop #2: The Ending of Oslo, August 31st (April 20)
You can engage with The Deep Focus: Oslo, August 31st in the way that works best for you
The program unfolds over three weeks, with two 90-minute recorded workshops and two written guides to help you apply what you’ve learned.
Move through it on your own schedule
There are no required live sessions, and you can engage with each part in your own time — with space to ask questions and think things through in the Group Space.
Live workshops (if you want them)
If you join the sessions live, the experience becomes more collaborative.
You’ll be able to shape what we focus on and watch ideas evolve in real time as we build on each other’s observations.
A space for co-thinking
Throughout the program, you’ll have access to a private group space — shared by no more than 19 other people — where you can ask questions, test half-formed ideas, or share something you’ve noticed.
And I’ll be there to respond — not just answering questions, but building on what you’re seeing so we can think it through together.
After the first workshop, you’ll already notice a shift in how you watch films.
Nancy Mills, a founding member of Reel Ruminators, took part in a pilot of the first workshop.
Here’s what she said afterward:
“I want to take the time to study a film when before I only wanted to learn to enjoy it more.
I want to think about this distinction more because I definitely feel a shift.
I was already learning some of that from Reel Ruminators, but now am motivated to do it on my own and perhaps of the earliest scenes before even watching the film.”
That shift — from wanting to enjoy a film more to wanting to study it so you can enjoy it more — is exactly what The Deep Focus is built to support.
And that first workshop is just the beginning.
This will feel like your kind of thing if you…
👍 Have had a moment in a film land — and thought, “wait — why did that hit me like that?!”
👍 Like spotting a pattern in a film — and seeing where else it shows up
👍 Enjoy when watching one film reshapes how you watch the next
The Deep Focus is a space to stay with that kind of experience a bit longer — to slow down with a film, follow a hunch, and see where it leads.
We start April 9.
🎟️ $297 USD
or 2 payments of $165
Only 20 seats available.
Two access/concession seats available each round.
See the FAQs for details.
If you’re still wondering whether this is the right time, or the right experience —
I can guarantee that you’re not alone.
This is the first time I’m offering The Deep Focus — but I’ve been guiding people through film experiences like this for years.
So these questions reflect a mix of what people have asked before joining similar spaces, and what I imagine you might be curious about now.
Do I need any specific film expertise to join The Deep Focus?
Not at all. The Deep Focus is for curious film lovers — whether you’re new to thinking about how films are made or you’ve been paying attention to these details for years.
You don’t need prior expertise — the workshops and guides will help you notice things step by step.
If you’ve ever been moved by a scene and wondered how it did that to you, you’re in the right place.
“I was nervous about stepping in and discussing things that I didn’t know much about. In the end, the atmosphere was accepting and welcoming, so I felt free to join in quite a bit.”
— Sarah Vincent, participant in a pilot of The Deep Focus Workshop #1 on a different film
“The folks who join (in my experience) are overwhelmingly present/curious and not just there to sound smart.“
– Michael Borek, Reel Ruminators Member, USA
Do I have to attend the workshops live?
No. Both workshops will be recorded, and the program is designed so you can complete it fully asynchronously if you prefer.
If the timing aligns and you have the spoons, joining live can make the experience even richer. You’ll be able to shape what we focus on and watch ideas evolve in real time as we build on each other’s observations.
But the workshops, guides, and group space are all designed so the full experience works on your own schedule.
Here is the schedule:
Workshop #1 — Thursday, April 9 at 7:00 pm ET
Workshop #2 — Sunday, April 19 at 2:30 pm ET
(Both workshops will be recorded.)
How much time should I expect to spend on The Deep Focus?
Workshop 1: 90 minutes
Workshop 2: 90 minutes
Guide to Oslo, August 31st: ~30 minutes (or longer if you want to explore more)
Guide to Sentimental Value: ~30 minutes (or longer if you want to explore more)
👉 The core experience: about 4 hours total across three weeks.
If you haven’t already seen the films, you’ll also want time to watch them:
• Oslo, August 31st: 90 minutes
• Sentimental Value: 2h 6m
You can spend additional time revisiting scenes, following extra questions in the guides, or joining conversations in the Group Space.
You don’t need to complete everything within the three weeks to experience the shift — but the more you engage, the more you’ll get out of it.
What if I can’t finish everything in three weeks?
That’s completely fine. It’s designed to be easily manageable in three weeks, but that doesn’t mean you have to complete it that quickly.
The three-week structure is there so we can move through the program together with daily support from me, but you’ll have lifetime access to the workshops and guides.
Many participants revisit the materials when they watch the films again and notice new things each time.
How long will I have access to you?
I will be there live for the two 90-minute workshops.
Beyond that, I’ll be active in the Group Space Monday to Friday for three weeks, starting just before our first workshop. The Group Space will be open for 11 days after Workshop #2.
After that, the Group Space will close.
You’ll still have lifetime access to all the materials: the workshop recordings and guides. So you can revisit them whenever you return to the films.
Do I need to already be a Joachim Trier fan?
Not at all.
The Deep Focus works just as well if you’re curious about Trier’s films as if you already love them.
Part of the experience is discovering how much meaning these films contain once you know where to look and what questions to ask.
If you’re already a Trier fan, you’ll likely find new things to love.
And if you’ve ever felt like you didn’t quite “get” his films, you may find they open up in surprising ways once you know where to look.
Why focus on the beginning and ending of the films?
Because these are the places where close readings of just a few minutes of screen time can shift how you see the whole film.
In Oslo, August 31st, the prologue isn’t part of the main storyline, but it shapes how you read everything that follows.
And the ending looks simple on the surface, but brings together what the film has been building toward.
Starting there gives you a way in to how to read the film.
The prologue and ending of Sentimental Value echo those in Oslo — but with new layers.
So what you learn in Oslo carries across.
How do I watch the movies?
You’ll need to rent, buy, or stream the film yourself.
Oslo, August 31st is available to rent, buy, or stream in the US and UK, and is available on DVD or on Kanopy in Canada.
Sentimental Value is available to rent or buy on VOD in Canada, the US, and the UK. It is streaming on Prime in Canada and Mubi in the UK.
If you’re outside those regions, and you’re not sure if the films will be available in your region (or if there’s a workaround), email me at contact@seventh-row.com, and I will let you know.
Do I get lifetime access?
Yes — you’ll keep access to the materials, so you can revisit anytime, especially as you rewatch these films, or dive into other films!
It’s capped at 20 people.
What if I can’t afford the full price?
If the full price would make it hard or impossible to join — especially due to disability, chronic illness, care responsibilities, uncertain employment or systemic barriers — the access rate is here for you.
I’ve set aside two access-priced seats in each round of The Deep Focus — available at:
- $148.5 upfront (50% off)
- $103.95/month for 2 months (30% off).
There’s no application and no need to explain your circumstances.
If this applies to you, just email me at contact@seventh-row.com and let me know you’d like one of the access seats.
Spots are first-come, first-served. This is one way I’m working to make sure the space reflects the richness of our wider communities — while also keeping it sustainable for me as the facilitator.
What if I change my mind — is there a refund policy?
Sometimes, something looks right on the surface, but doesn’t feel right once you’re inside.
If you register and find The Deep Focus isn’t for you, you’re welcome to request a full refund any time before the first live workshop.
After that point, I don’t offer refunds — both because the real-time content is a huge part of the experience, and because you’ll have access to one quarter of the program.
My hope is that this gives you space to dip your toes in and trust that you’ll know if it’s the right fit.
I have another question!
Email me at contact@seventh-row.com, and I’ll be happy to answer!