The Celebration (1998)

8.0R101 minDirector: Thomas Vinterberg

1998 Danish black comedy-drama film

The Celebration (Danish: Festen) is a 1998 Danish black comedy-drama film directed by Thomas Vinterberg and produced by Nimbus Film. It tells the story of a family gathering to celebrate their patriarch's 60th birthday, during which a family secret is revealed.

Festen was the first film of the Dogme 95 movement, which was created by Vinterberg and his fellow Danish director Lars von Trier. The movement preferred simple and analog production values to allow for the highlighting of plot and performance. The film won the Jury Prize at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival and was selected as the Danish entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 71st Academy Awards, but it was not chosen as one of the final five nominees for the award.

Plot summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

FAQ

What is The Celebration about?
The Celebration (1998) — When a father turns 60, his large family gathers at a castle to celebrate him. Everybody likes and respects him deeply--or do they? The youngest son is trying to live up to his father's expectations; he runs a grill-bar in a dirty part of Copenhagen. The oldest son runs a restaur
Is The Celebration based on a true story?
See the production background and source material details on the official Wikipedia article.
Is The Celebration scary?
Content rating: R. See the reviews tab for parental guidance and tone notes.