I will still call this one of my....I am not sure if favorite is correct, but most remembered films. The story is a surprise. The reactions are a surprise. Anyone who sees this will feel the piercing pain of the story. I saw this without knowing, only the rating. The filming style was new at the time. If you can handle the drama check it out.

A dysfunctional upper-class family gathers for the father's 60th birthday. Secrets are revealed and chaos ensues.I understand the attraction of rebelling against Hollywood style blockbusters. Filming in a Blair Witch style doesn't make it good, let alone a masterpiece. The kindest thing I can say about the look of the movie is that the filmmakers are trying to do something different. It's not particularly interesting to me and rather tiresome.The other problem is mostly my fault. I don't know any of the actors. There is character chaos. I can follow most of the leads but it's hard to get involved. It's funny that Michael throws his wife and kids to the side of the road. I lose interest in any of them fairly quickly after that. I don't care about the family or its secrets.

The noted Danish director, Thomas Vinterberg, asks the question, 'is there nothing sacred?', and decidedly answers in the negative. Some may call 'The Celebration' a black comedy, which according to Wikipedia, fits the definition: "In black humor, topics and events that are usually regarded as taboo…are treated in an unusually humorous or satirical manner while retaining their seriousness." But the film also falls under the broader category of farce: "a farce is a comedy that aims at entertaining the audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, and thus improbable…Farce is also characterized by physical humor, the use of deliberate absurdity or nonsense, and broadly stylized performances…Furthermore, a farce is also often set in one particular location, where all events occur."If one accepts Eric Bentley's definition of farce where one is permitted the outrage without the consequences, then Vinterberg has broken the societal taboos of pedophilia by asking us (in effect) to consider that the consequences of such a transgression might not be as bad as one thinks. Indeed, when Christian spills the beans at his father's big birthday bash that he was molested by his father as a child, the outrage is certainly there for all to see-but the consequences are hardly what the viewer is expecting.'The Celebration' reminds me of a much darker version of 'Seinfeld'. The four 'Seinfeld' buddies are deeply flawed human beings, but once they come across a much darker force (The 'Soup Nazi' as one of countless examples), they must prepare themselves to do 'battle'. The end result is that our 'heroes' may end up a bit 'bloodied', but their far more neurotic counterpart, must inevitably receive his/her comeuppance.Hence, Helge's children, Christian, Michael and Helene, are cast as the protagonists, who inevitably must take their 'evil' father down. But along the way, they too, with their serious flaws, are exposed as pyrrhic victors. Perhaps the most flawed of the three children is Michael. Immediately we see what a hothead he is when he kicks his wife and children out of the car, to give his brother a ride, driving up to the family-run hotel where the celebration will take place. Later, he flips out completely, berating his wife for forgetting to pack his favorite shoes, that he was planning to wear at the party. If there's one wrong note in the film, it's Vinterberg's decision to cast Michael as an out and out racist, after he sings a racist song, disparaging Helene's African-American boyhood. The whole idea here is to highlight the characters' limitations, not make them unsympathetic!Vinterberg also hints that Helene has not lived up to her expectations. When she finds a suicide note belonging to Christian's twin sister, Lisa, who killed herself a couple of months before, she ineffectually hides it, afraid to reveal its contents to anyone. Helene's mother, Else, expresses her disappointment in her surviving daughter by alluding to her failed career choice as a singer and her flirtation with socialism. Else's racism is much more subtle when she claims Helene chose 'anthropology' over 'law' (a dig at Helene's black boyfriend).And finally there's Christian, who Helge reveals during one of their 'one-on-one's', has a history of psychiatric problems and failures of relationships with women. While a victim of sexual abuse as a child, Christian can only ineffectually lash out at his parents in front of friends and family members. Even after his initial claim of abuse, he comes back for 'more', castigating his father again and then his mother, claiming she was a witness to Helge's pedophilia and did and said nothing. The whining Christian ends up being tied to a tree by Michael, as the younger son believes his mother's story that Christian is a teller of 'tall tales'.Soon, however, the far more disturbed Helge gets his comeuppance. After the toastmaster reads Linda's suicide note (given to him by Helene at Christian's behest), the deceased daughter implies she was also molested by Helge (as part of a dream, she says). Helge finally owns up to his behavior, by outrageously stating that was all Christian "was good for." But instead of anyone calling the police, the consequences are minimal for the family patriarch. That evening Michael administers a non-lethal beating; in the morning he beats a hasty exit as Michael asks him to leave the breakfast area—with the further proviso that he will be not be seeing his grandchildren ever again.As for Else, she declines to join her husband 'in exile'. Some internet posters have stated that she too deserved Helge's fate. But consider this: at the time the abuse occurred, what could she really have done? If she had went to the police, would anyone have believed her? Or if she tried to leave with the kids, what kind of financial support would she have had and wouldn't have Helge done everything in his power, to prevent her from taking the kids?You may have noticed, of course, the low quality of the film's production. That's of course due to Vinterberg's allegiance to the Dogme 95 Collective school of filmmaking, which Vinterberg was one of the founding members. We all remember what this silly avant-garde movement was all about: no props, no music, a hand-held camera, filmed on location, director getting no credit, etc. In short, Dogme 95 was just another word for 'low-budget' and a well-meaning attempt by independent filmmakers to achieve parity with the big-budget studios.Vinterberg's real achievement here is extending the genre of black comedy into a new realm. Taboos are refreshingly swept aside with a 'happy ending' (the antagonist is dealt with by his family not the police; facing ostracism instead of a criminal sentence). 'The Celebration' is not much of a 'laugh-out loud' spectacle but still manages to be fairly original.

When I saw Jagten (by the same director) I immediately looked for other movies of his and saw this highly rated movie. The movie starts off pretty slow with out much drama/action and I did not understand what was happening at one time but man did it pick up after that.After the first speech I was left with my mouth open thinking what just happened? And then I was absorbed fully . Thomas Vintenberg's direction was spectacular . After watching Festen I was thoroughly disappointed in the quality of movies that are coming out now . Vintenberg achieved with a hand-held camera what many acclaimed directors could not achieve with the world at their feet(in terms of money/ resources) . Watch Festen and enjoy the power of great story telling.