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The Celebration (Festen) (1998)

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All Critics
Top Critics

Average Rating: 8.1/10
Reviews Counted: 38
Fresh: 35 | Rotten: 3

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100

Average Rating: 8.4/10
Critic Reviews: 6
Fresh: 6 | Rotten: 0

No consensus yet.

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Average Rating: 4.3/5
User Ratings: 18,893

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Movie Info

This Danish comedy drama won the Jury Prize at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. It opens in rural Denmark as family members assemble for the 60th birthday celebration of patriarch Helge (Henning Moritzen). At the family estate are Helge's children: France-based restaurateur Christian (Ulrich Thomsen), whose twin sister killed herself; surviving sister Helene (Paprika Steen); and younger brother Michael (Thomas Bo Larsen), married with three children. At the birthday dinner, the bitter Christian

Unrated, 1 hr. 46 min.

Drama, Art House & International, Comedy

Directed By: Thomas Vinterberg

Written By: Thomas Vinterberg, Mogens Rukov

In Theaters: Jun 19, 1998 Wide

On DVD: Apr 12, 2005

October Films

The Celebration (Festen) Trailer & Photos

Cast

Ulrich Thomsen
Christian
Henning Moritzen
Helge
Thomas Bo Larsen
Michael
Paprika Steen
Helene
Birthe Neumann
Else
Trine Dyrholm
Pia
Helle Dolleris
Mette
Therese Glahn
Michelle
Klaus Bondam
Master Of Ceremony
Bjarne Henriksen
Chef
Gbatokai Dakinah
Gbatokai

Critic Reviews for The Celebration (Festen)

All Critics (56) | Top Critics (14) | Fresh (35) | Rotten (3) | DVD (5)

The Celebration is founded on a cheeky display of cinephilic self-promotion.

August 21, 2009 Full Review Source: City Pages, Minneapolis/St. Paul

| Comment

Rob Nelson

City Pages, Minneapolis/St. Paul Source: City Pages, Minneapolis/St. Paul

gripping and devastatingly powerful

April 21, 2008 Comment

Rich Cline

Shadows on the Wall

Best of the 'Dogme' fims, which isn't saying much, but there you go.

October 1, 2004 Comment

Gregory Weinkauf

New Times

Extraordinary...It is a celebration, not of a sham birthday party, but of the transformative power of truth.

August 6, 2004 Full Review Source: Boulder Weekly

| Comment

Thomas Delapa

Boulder Weekly Source: Boulder Weekly

A major triumph for the Dogme group, and a success from any point of view.

March 9, 2004 Comment

Jake Euker

F5 (Wichita, KS) Source: F5 (Wichita, KS)

Pungent family drama, but thuddingly self-serious and wildly overpraised.

August 15, 2003 Comment

Nick Davis

Nick's Flick Picks

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Audience Reviews for The Celebration (Festen)

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Simple, stripped-down film by Danish auteur Thomas Vinterberg, made under the Dogme 95 manifesto which, among other things, promotes shooting with a handheld camera while restricting the use of artificial lighting. The realistic, almost home-video style and look of the film makes it feel natural, organic, unrehearsed.

April 3, 2011

Fernando Rafael Quintero Casta�eda

Super Reviewer

A great story which was confusing at times. I'm not sure about some of what happened as it was in a different language and it's hard to read the scene whilst reading the subtitles and sarcasm doesn't always come across in writing. Well worth watching though.

January 31, 2011