Festen (The Celebration, 1998) - stats
Name in original language: Festen
Country: Denmark
Production Company: Nimbus Film Productions
Release date: 19 June 1998 (DK), 7 October 1998 (USA)
Running time: 1 hours 40 minutes
Director: Thomas Vinterberg
Script: Thomas Vinterberg and Mogens Rukov, based on an idea by Thomas Vinterberg
Cast: Ulrich Thomsen, Henning Moritzen, Paprika Steen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Birthe Neumann, Trine Dyrholm, Helle Dolleris
(Not) keeping it in the family - my Festen fanlisting (listed at TFL)
My Festen Image Gallery - complete
Festen (The Celebration, 1998) - review
The Plot
In contemporary Danemark, family, family and friends gather at the Klingenfeldts' country estate at the occasion of Helge's 60th brithday. But what begins as a peaceful family reunion, only overshadowed by the recent suicide of Christian's twin sister, Linda, quickly turns ugly as family secrets are revealed and masks begin to crack....
The Movie
I rarely go to theater to see the same movie more than once, except when I love it and when the scale and the cinematic experience justifies that it be seen on a silver screen rather than on my tv. That was the case of movies like X-men 2 or the Lord of the Rings series. Festen, however, is no Hollywood big-budget extravaganza. It's not only a small danish movie, it's a dogme movie, the first of its kind actually. So, the question is, why would I bother to pay twice $12 (that's the price of a movie ticket where I live) to see a movie shot with a hand-held camera, with no artificial lightening, no props or sets, directed by a man who made his vow to "[....] force the truth out of my characters and settings. I swear to do so by all the means available and at the cost of any good taste and any aesthetic considerations." (check the dogme vow of chastity)?
Such a statement can be worrying, as it may indicate that the focus will be put on the way the movie is made in order to respect this vow, rather than on the story and characters. But the wonderful thing about Festen is that this dogme only happens to be a way to make things happen rather than an end in itself. I would go as far as saying that, in the case of this movie, the rules set by the collective were liberating, allowing Vinterberg to precisely focus solely on the story and the characters. Substance wins over form, although the form itself adds to the impact of the story: Festen shot outside the boundaries of those rules would have ended up a very different movie, and the impact surely lessened
Also, let me set aside some fears I've perceived when discussing this movie with people who hadn't seen it. This is by no way an "intellectual movie". Or rather, the social and psychological aspects are there for you to explore if you so wish, but first and foremost, this is an emotional movie
If anything, watching Festen is like going to a theater, as it respects a unity of place, time and action. People gather in a family estate to celebrate the patriarch's, Helge, 60th birthday. Among those who have come are Helge's children, Helene, Michael and Christian. The only one missing is Linda, Christian's twin, and for a very good reason: she commited suicide a few months earlier. The action takes place from their arrival until the next morning. If the first twenty minutes are mostly amusing, allowing us to get familiar with the public faces of the main protagonists through apparently mundain chit-chat (although rewatching those first moments once you're familiar with the whole movie will reveal numerous details that weren't that mundain, after all), only overshadowed by the recent death of Linda, from the moment the bomb is dropped, in the form of an apparently innocent enough toast to the birthday "boy", the story grips you to never let go, and that for at least three reasons
First, it's about a family, and we all belong, or have belonged, to one, be it literaly and/or figuratively. Watching this, we are necessarily reminded of the vicissitudes of our own family lifes, even if (hopefully for you!) they don't quite compare with those revealed about the Klingenfeldts. Secondly, the characters are written and played in such a way that you can relate to them effortlessly, despite (or rather because of) their numerous flaws. I was not surprised to learn that Vinterberg spent two months and a half with the actors discussing them. On screen, you are never once reminded that the people in front of you are actors, and that's only possible with a talented cast which has been through a intense preparation, allowing them to slip into their characters to the point that they become a second skin. This familiarity is compounded by the rules set by Dogme, allowing no interference between the viewer and the action and its actors, creating a unique sense of immediacy
But all this would mean little without a clever script. And Festen's script is a masterpiece on several levels: it's perfectly paced, successfully avoiding a pitfall common to many "intimate" movies, that of relying to heavily on dialogues to make up for the lack of action, but without trying to be too clever for its own good by keeping you in the dark: you'll know just as much as if you were a member of that family yourself. And it's deliciously ironic in all the right places (one example of this would be the lyrics of the song by Helge's mom in contrast with Christian's words and actions at the same moment - hilarious)
Festen is a true little gem, one of those miracles that succeed at getting everything right, and you owe it to yourself to watch it at least once - just remember to walk in with an open mind. Chances are, you'll love your own family a lot more once the credits roll....
The DVD
I've watched it both on a region 2 and a region 1 DVD - the latter didn't have any extra. The former came with filmographies, biographies and trailers. Nothing too exciting but then, chances are you'll be too overwhelmed by the movie to care about extras....
Festen (The Celebration, 1998) - Links
Festen @ imdb
Festen @ wikipedia
Festen @ Rotten Tomatoes
Festen @ Dogme 95
Interview of Thomas Vinterberg @ indieWIRE - enlightening!
Festen review @ Neil Young's Film Lounge
Festen review @ wsws - spoils the entire movie, so don't read if you haven't seen it already!
Festen review by David N. Butterworth
The Celebration (Festen) - DVD edition (region 1)