The Celebration

Festen; drama, Denmark / Sweden, 1998; D: Thomas Vinterberg, S: Ulrich Thomsen, Henning Moritzen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Paprika Steen, Birthe Neumann, Trine Dyrholm
The blond Christian walks alone on the road in the middle of a meadow. His brother Michael arrives in a car and gives him a ride, expelling firsthand his wife Mette and their kids to make room. They arrive at a hotel where sister Helene awaits them and their whole family—they are gathered for a party to celebrate the 60th birthday of Helge, their father. Michael is a violent person and starts arguing with Helene's lover because he is Black. Then, surprisingly, Christian holds a speech and reveals to everyone that his father Helge raped him as a child and that his sister committed suicide because of it. Michael throws Christian out, refusing to believe him, but then finds the letter of his late sister. After that, Michael beats his father. The next morning, Helge admits everything and they make up.

Drama "The Celebration" is a untypically shrill and energetic film for rigid Dogme 95 due to its genius visual style which instills it with unexpected creativity: unlike many static Dogme 95 films, here the camera is dynamic and will make a lot of viewers enjoy in its unusual angles and camera drives. The bird perspective, fish eye lens, the opening film title written on a piece of paper submerged in water (?), a close up shot of an object for ecstatic physiognomy, the "floating" of the camera through the room while it slowly shifts for 180 degrees—it is all here, but probably the most poetic image is the close up shot of the hero in the dark while he is scarcely illuminated by a candle, mirroring his tormented emotional state. But even the sole story about incest in the family that causes pain and the disintegration of the celebration is extremely well elaborated and unbelievably authentic. When Christian holds his speech about how "children were always afraid when father would take a bath" the guests are all laughing because they take it as a joke, yet when he finishes his rant by adding how he raped them, it petrifies them all. How do people react when confronted with an inconvenient truth about their idol? The movie thematizes how they react here in the form of denial and ostrich effect. Such a fine directorial touch by Thomas Vinterberg earned the film numerous awards, resulting in one of the best Danish films of all time, and the best Dogme 95 film, a one that is both intense, sophisticated, emotional, engaging and genuine at the same time. Considering the delicate tone and powerful execution, which manages to make such a standard event of a celebration into something indescribably fascinating, family drama "The Celebration" is a shining achievement.

Grade:+++