Festen

Star Review

"My supreme goal is to force the truth out of my characters and settings. I swear to do so by all means available and at the cost of any good taste and any aesthetic considerations," declared director Thomas Vinterberg as one of the founding signatories to Lars Von Trier's Dogme 95 manifesto. Festen (Celebration) was Dogme#1: the first film to be made in accordance with the 'vow of chastity' which prohibited any assistance beyond natural light, on-location sound recording and a handheld camera. The result, a pitch-black farce set around a patriarch's 60th birthday party, is a perfect union between storytelling and technique.

Eldest son Christian is troubled by the passing of his twin sister, while his ne'er-do-well brother shows up uninvited to court his father's favour. Intrigue unfolds above and below stairs as the cringingly awful family turns in on itself amidst accusations of abuse and recriminations over the daughter's death. It's shocking certainly, but this award-winning comedy is also unpretentious fun.

Milo Wakelin on 10th September 2008

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Film Description

Dogme Film 1. The brilliant first film made according to Lars von Trier's 'Vow of Chastity', about a birthday party held for a 60 year-old man, in which some unpleasant family truths are revealed. A film about love, hate, and the icy charm of the bourgeoisie.

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Now acknowledged as the most accessible film fashioned in the DOGME 95 idiom, Festen has gleaned awards and much audience enthusiasm. Thomas Vinterberg's authentic exa... more >

Now acknowledged as the most accessible film fashioned in the DOGME 95 idiom, Festen has gleaned awards and much audience enthusiasm. Thomas Vinterberg's authentic examination of a family gathering that autodestructs is filmed in real time, which gives the unforced dramatics a powerful verisimilitude. The metaphorical 'vows of chastity' that Lars Von Trier launched the Dogma movement with now look quaint, but the unforced qualities on offer here lend real edge to the narrative. We are shown the Klingenfeldt family on the eve of the patriarch's birthday. With the strange death of his daughter destabilising an already precarious family equilibrium, the birthday celebration is doomed to disaster. Performances are uniformly splendid. The shades of Ibsen and Strindberg (with their bleak takes on family life) may be evident here, but this is a very individual piece of work. < less

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DVD Extras

• Making-of documentary
• Festen in Retrospect
• The Disclosure of Festen.

Film Details

Cast

Ulrich Thomsen, Henning Moritzen

Technical Details