Search - Celebration (1998) on DVD

Brilliant, devastating potrait of a family

Matthew Horner | USA | 05/31/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

""The Celebration" was made under the rules of Dogma 95, a pact about how a movie is to be made. It was signed by several Danish filmmakers including Thomas Vintenberger, the director of "Celebration". The rules include using only hand held cameras, no artificial lighting, no props except those found on location. Dogma 95 is an attempt to get away from the artificiality of Hollywood-style movie making, but, in its own way, it's artificial itself because it works only with certain kinds of movies. "The Celebration", though, happens to fit perfectly into its rules. The hand held camera work, for example, only adds to the tension of this powerful and devastating film. A large family gathers to celebrate the 60th birthday of its patriarch. Among the celebrants are the man's grown children, a daughter and two sons. A fourth child, a twin of one son, recently killed herself in the family's country inn where the party takes place. One son, Michael [Thomas Bo Larson], is a loud and pushy guy who drinks a lot and is less than an understanding husband and father. Helene [Paprika Steen], the daughter, is an anthropologist who has traveled the world. We find out that she has good reason to distance herself from the family. Christian [Ulrich Thomson], the twin, is a man who has been in a mental institution more than once. For a time, the children try their best to put on a cheerful front. But there is a dark family secret which is about to come out. It will destroy the family. Despairing as it may be, this is one of the most riveting films I have seen in a long time. The acting is absolutely wonderful. The script is brilliant and brutally frank. Rarely have I seen a movie with so much insightful into the enormous complexities of relationships within a family. While your family hopefully does not have secrets this shocking, you should still be able to relate to the emotions involved. This is the kind of movie you have to pay close attention to. In particular, pay attention to a small piece of paper that keeps cropping up.Highly recommended to people who like highly charged dramas and who like some substance to their movies."

ONE OF THE BEST FILMS OF 1998

Matthew Horner | 11/21/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"After I saw this brilliant film, I was totally blown away by it. (I was also blown away by the fact that the obtuse Academy Awards did not nominate it for Best Foreign Language Film. The Celebration was ten times better than Life is Beautiful.) I would compare The Celebration to another brilliant film of its time: The 400 Blows by Francois Truffaut. Both films make excellent use of their cameras, and deal with the theme of child abuse by the adults. The freeze frame shot of the twin son at the end of The Celebration reminded me of Antoine at the end of The 400 Blows. THERE SHOULD BE MORE FILMS LIKE THE CELEBRATION AND THE 400 BLOWS MADE AND RELEASED IN THE U.S."

The One Film That Will Stay With Me Until My Death

LGwriter | 09/04/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Forget the Dogme rules. I'm of the view that in a few years time Dogme will have been shown to be film equivalent of Punk Rock. In the same way that Malcolm Maclaren told the whole world (after the event) that Punk was one great rip-off, I can see Von Trier and friends saying that the only people who took Dogma seriously was the movie going public - they were only having fun.All this being said, by luck or judgement the Dogme movement have come up with a masterpiece of a film. Festen (or The Celebration) hits every taboo right on target: incest, racism, family feuds (to name a few). Dare I say it, but the considering the subject matter the most impressive facet of the film is its sense of comedy. I laughed out loud (nervously it must be said in the theatre) at the shear boldness of the film - if you've never seen a foreign language film, this one will change your life."

Danish dysfunctionality

Gregor von Kallahann | 08/28/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I hadn't seen any Dogme 95 films until quite recently. I did have a passing familiarity with the tenets of the group--which got a fair amount of press due to the emergence of Lars von Trier as a director of note--but hadn't actually gotten around to viewing any of the releases available in this country until just a few months ago.

A lot of what I had read was pretty negative. Many reviewers found that the strictures under which Dogme 95 filmmakers operate were more limiting than liberating--and that even when the script and the acting were good, those strictures (particularly the grainy cinematography and lack of edits) often undermined the films' effectiveness.

Since the first Dogme film I actually saw was ITALIAN FOR BEGINNERS, I found myself in tentative agreement with the critics. That film, a comedy-drama, seemed to beg for better lighting, better sound and an overall more professional look. I remember thinking that the film's generally washed-out look made one actress's bright red hair look oddly artificial). It seemed oddly jarring that what was ultimately a bright, warmhearted film was presented so starkly.

But I have to admit the experience had its effect. The next few films I watched I saw through somewhat different eyes. I became increasingly aware of the kind of tricks filmmakers employ--particularly in terms of cinematography. There are certain visual conventions in films, particularly in American films, that have become cliched and deserve to be challenged.

It remained to be seen how effective the Dogme 95 approach might be in a more dramatic context. The very first entry in the series Thomas Vinterberg's CELEBRATION (am I even allowed to mention the director's name?) seemed promising on that score. The film concerns the secrets and lies of a well-to-do Danish family (which include incest, denial and suicide) set against the backdrop of the 60th birthday celebration of the family patriarch (and perpetrator).

We've seen this kind of set-up before, and it can go one of two ways. It can be as emotionally shattering as the subject matter would seem to warrant--or it can ring totally false and shift to unintentional self-parody. Thankfully, THE CELEBRATION manages to pull it off, and, yes, it's in part due to solid writing and acting, but I think the minimalist Dogme approach serves this vehicle well. The film evokes Bergman--without the cinematography of a Sven Nykvist. As it turns out, it actually works. Powerfully.

Bergman is, of course, Bergman, and he would likely never have never have submitted to Dogme 95-like tenets. On the other hand, he has approached same on occasion (SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE comes to mind), and a Dogme remake of any number of his films would be at least possible.

CELEBRATION is a difficult film to watch, and the lack of cinematic trickery adds to the discomfort in a very real way. You can't really get away from the events unfolding onscreen, even momentarily, by pulling back and saying, "Yes, it's painful, but look how beautifully it's framed."

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