The problem with sentimentalism is not that it's sentimental. But that it often results in cliche.

This is a sample of non-cliched sentimentalism:

"Once that first tear broke free, the rest followed in an unbroken
stream. Naoko bent forward where she sat on the floor and pressing her
palms to the mat, she began to cry with the force of a person vomiting
on all fours."

Norwegian Wood, Haruki Murakami.

As you can see there are tears in this passage, but the part that says "she began to cry with the force of a person vomiting on all fours" (not sure about you, but I've never seen crying being described like this before) removes the cliche and instead of sentimentalism, we have a very strong image.

So, sentimentalism isn't bad. In fact, the main reason we read stories is to feel sentimental, to let our feelings take over.

EDIT:

This is another example:

(I was going to explain what Final Fantasy is but then I saw your profile photo.)

This is a scene from FFVII: Crisis Core. Cloud's friend Zack dies and gives him his sword. It's sentimental. And cliched. The part that removes the cliche is Cloud's scream. It's not your typical "Noooooo!" or "Whyyy?!". He screams like he's being ripped off or murdered (again, this is the first time I see something like this). And that, in my opinion, is what makes it a good scene.

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