The Celebration

R

Released May 2, 1998

1 hr. 45 min.

Comedy

Drama

List

91%

47 Reviews

Tomatometer

94%

10,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

A dark secret mars a Dane's (Henning Moritzen) 60th birthday celebration, attended by his family (Ulrich Thomsen, Thomas Bo Larsen) and friends.

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Critics Consensus

As sharp and ruthless as the family dynamic that powers its plot, The Celebration blends tragedy and comedy to brilliant effect.

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Sam F

Even if sick from the hand-held camera, this was an amazing, must see display of truth in the face.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/13/24

Full Review

TrueBlueReview I

An emotional roller coaster, authentic to its core, and deeply effecting. I have seen few movies like it. Vacillating between dark comedy and utter melancholy, the strands of trauma run taut throughout this claustrophobic piece of bold filmmaking as it unfolds in real time. Each character has a purpose, each scene keeps you engaged. Ulrich Thomsen is phenomenal.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/07/23

Full Review

renaldo d

The best film of the dogme 95 movement, fantastic script, editing and accelerated camera capture so that the events are realistic, in addition, fantastic performances and direction

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Audience Member

I've seen this movie a few times over the years and I can't come up with one bad thing to say about it. It's a masterpiece.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/13/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The sharp screenplay, though written by the filmmaker to comply with Dogme's 10 rules and its staunch edict to forsake "artistry" and "refrain from personal taste," is a profoundly personal explosion of what isn't talked about. It was a blast felt around the world, resonating in the form of accolades, awards, and an Oscar-winning film career for Vinterberg. And The Celebration -- and by extension, Vinterberg and his excellent crew and bold cast (including Ulrich Thomsen, Henning Moritzen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Paprika Steen, and Gbatokai Dakinah) earns every bit of the massive acclaim it reaped.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

Full Review

William L

"It is quite a job being toastmaster tonight." Well that's an understatement. Most of the Dogme 95 'classics' (i.e., von Trier takes) do relatively little for me, they mostly seem to add a unique stylistic flair without justification, different for the sake of being different. But Festen is different; the shaky-cam and intimate angles play into the domestic instability, and actually impart an energy that helps place the audience at the table, stewing in the atmosphere of uncomfortable tension. And this Thomas Vinterberg film is one that relishes tension, playing off of the tightrope walk between social graces and honesty. The family is taken aback by explicit and unexpected accusations, and their first response is to ostracize the accuser despite the emotional authenticity of his pleas; the air in the room is quickly replaced by a shared, uneasy denial, almost surreal in nature. It takes several additional outbursts, including the testimony of an unquestionable source (from a candid suicide note) to ultimately force the truth onto the family, and even then breakfast returns to a cheery balance the following morning, with the notable exclusion of one now-reviled family member. Equal parts caustic, bleakly comic, and dramatically powerful, Festen is stripped-down but hard-hitting, a testament to the strength of a new aesthetic movement when paired with a narrative that actually complements it. (4.5/5)

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

05/08/22

Full Review

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Thomas Vinterberg

Director

Ulrich Thomsen

Christian Klingenfeldt

Henning Moritzen

Faderen

Thomas Bo Larsen

Michael

Paprika Steen

Helene

Birthe Neumann

Moderen

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Caroline Rees

Empire Magazine

There's no denying that some of the Dogme strictures inject urgency and surprise into what could have been a tediously static affair.

Rated: 3/5

Sep 22, 2020

Full Review

Paul Tatara

CNN.com

I'll be thinking about this movie for a long time to come.

Sep 22, 2020

Full Review

Lisa Schwarzbaum

Entertainment Weekly

A funny, volatile, visually dynamic story about the unraveling of one extended family during the course of a patriarchal 60th-birthday dinner.

Rated: A-

Sep 7, 2011

Full Review

Brian Susbielles

InSession Film

Vinterberg is able to work with the shocking claim and the farce of familial gatherings and personal faults in one of the more refreshing movies of the time.

Feb 22, 2023

Full Review

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

The Celebration transcends the movement, even while its narrative exists in symbolic, dramatic harmony with Dogme 95's attitude toward cinematic conventions.

Rated: 4/4

Feb 12, 2022

Full Review

Jeremy Aspinall

Radio Times

This is family drama at its most coruscating.

Rated: 4/5

Sep 22, 2020

Full Review

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Synopsis

A dark secret mars a Dane's (Henning Moritzen) 60th birthday celebration, attended by his family (Ulrich Thomsen, Thomas Bo Larsen) and friends.

Director: Thomas Vinterberg
Screenwriter: Thomas Vinterberg, Mogens Rukov
Distributor: October Films
Production Co: SVT Drama, Nimbus Film, Nordisk Film & TV-Fond, Danmarks Radio
Rating: R (References to Sexual Abuse|Language|Strong Sexual Content)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: Danish
Release Date (Theaters): May 2, 1998, Original
Release Date (Streaming): May 10, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $1.6M
Sound Mix: Dolby
Aspect Ratio: Academy (1.33:1)