Don't listen to the negative reviews

Brilliant and touching

Admirable film.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

At Helge's 60th birthday party, some unpleasant family truths are revealed.When you think of "Dogma 95", pretty much only one name comes to mind: Lars Von Trier. But we see from this film that he and his crew are not the only ones who can do that style of filming. Exactly what the point of it is, beyond being a challenge, I am not sure... but, yeah.And really, I think this would be a stronger film if it was not filmed in the Dogma 95 style. The interactions are really good, the characters full. They seem hampered by the camera making them look cheap and almost like fro ma home video. I also learned that racism is alive and well in Denmark, which I never would have thought.

'Festen' was the first film made under the 'Dogme 95' manifesto, which called on film-makers to abandon trickery and simply record what the actors did in front of the camera. The merits of the manifesto lie less in the fact that such trickery is bad (indeed, there are always new tricks available to the clever artist, and the wholly naturalistic film would be wholly dull), but in that it encouraged directors to think about what they were doing, and not fall back on clichéd short-cuts to induce certain responses in the audience. But a great film is a great film, whatever the rules under which it is made; and 'Festen' reminded me of Robert Altman's 'The Wedding', which begins with a long zoom shot from a static camera, the complete antithesis of the hand-held style that 'Dogme 95' dictates.'Festen' starts as a black comedy, the tale of the re-union of a highly dysfunctional family. But it soon becomes clear there's a reason for this dysfunction, and the story soon becomes truly horrifying, yet utterly convincing in its depiction of how a bully can remain unchallenged. Perhaps the take-home message it that crimes that can never be forgiven can never be acknowledged, either. Although the darkness gradually overwhelms the humour, it's a superbly executed movie, ultimately sympathetic but completely unsentimental, and with an immediacy that is the benefit of the chosen method.

I really love this movie. I saw it on cable television a long time ago when I was house sitting and I had no idea who directed it and obviously since it is from Denmark I think or whatever other Nordic or Scandinavian country I certainly would not be able to recognize any of the actors in it.So I'm glad I was able to find it here on IMDb and it didn't take long. Not to say that since I didn't recognize anyone or know about the movie it and they weren't great, it is quite the opposite that is true, I was really amazed by how awesome this movie was.I don't want to spoil it but it is basically a big dinner party with an entire family there to celebrate but instead a terrible family secret is opened up after all these years.A really great story with superb acting that you should not miss, but the subject matter is definitely for mature audiences only so keep the kids away!

In my project of watching IMDb's Top 250 list (of August 9 2013) I have come to number 248, which is "The Celebration" also known as "Festen" (one of few contributions to the list from my homeland Denmark). It's directed by Danish film director Thomas Vinterberg and is the first movie created under the Dogme95 rules. The movie depicts a 60th Birthday held by a wealthy Danish family. On the surface everything is idyll, but a lot is about the change. I do, however, don't want to spoil it. The movie is both serious and funny, but it's not meant to be funny. It's, however, some of the characters very extreme personalities, which make you laugh (briliant done).You also get a lot of good acting from the entire cast. Especially Ulrich Thomas, Paprika Steen, Thomas Bo Larsen and Henning Moritzen give fantastic performances. I had seen the movie before and loved it, but it was nice to see it again. It is really a movie that becomes better on repeating viewings. So I will give it 10 out of 10 stars. Not much to say – simply one of the best!