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Festen Details

1998 Certificate 15 Certificate 15
  • 70
  • from 9286 members

A man celebrates his sixtieth birthday with friends, relatives, his wife and children. This is a film about love, hate, the icy charm of the bourgeoisie and the loving arms of the chambermaid. Danish dialogue. Read more

Starring Ulrich Thomsen, Henning Moritzen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Paprika Steen
Director Thomas Vinterberg
Genres Drama, World Cinema

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Festen

A man celebrates his sixtieth birthday with friends, relatives, his wife and children. This is a film about love, hate, the icy charm of the bourgeoisie and the loving arms of the chambermaid. Danish dialogue.

Starring Ulrich Thomsen, Henning Moritzen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Paprika Steen
Director Thomas Vinterberg
Studio METRODOME VIDEO
Run time DVD: 1 hr 46 mins
Watch now: 1 hr 40 mins
Certificate DVD: Certificate 15, Watch Online: Certificate 15
Genres Drama, World Cinema
Language DVD: Danish
Watch Online: Danish
Subtitles DVD: English
Watch Online: English
Released DVD: 13 Oct 2008
Watch now: 19 May 2009
Production year: 1998
Watch now Subscribe and watch this as part of an unlimited package.
  • Critics' reviews of Festen

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  • 3 stars out of 5

    Echoes of country-house comedies like Jean Renoir's La Règle du Jeu and such savage social satires as Luis Buñuel's The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie ring around the first feature made under film-making collective Dogme 95's “vow of chastity”. A Danish patriarch celebrates his 60th birthday, but his son decides to reveal a few family secrets. But while the severity of the themes and the immediacy of the video imagery give the disastrous family reunion the same sort of visceral thrill induced by the first films of the nouvelle vague, this is more a shakycam soap opera than a mould-breaking masterpiece. However, any film that can tumble complacent chattering-class audiences out of their seats has to be applauded.

    • Radio Times
  • Most helpful member's review of Festen

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  • 49 out of 50 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 5 stars

    A party turns sour, very sour

    A most brilliant tale of family tragedy and revenge. As the patriarch of a rich Danish family celebrates a big birthday, his son salutes his father in a toast ... more

      • borealis from london
  • Most recent members' review of Festen

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  • 2 out of 2 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 4 stars

    What a shocker!

    One of the best jaw dropping moments I've seen - totally unexpected. The Dogme style does take a while to get used to but overall a good film.

      • blade5 from Yorkshire
  • News and features

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    Rachel Getting Married

    Rachel Getting Married

    • 19 Jan 2009

    The family get-together movie never goes out of style – in fact, if anything, it seems more popular than ever. Last week’s A Christmas Tale gave us a Gallic spin on the usual collection of crazy relatives, resentments and reconciliations; a bit more style, a lot less sentimentality. Mind you, Jonathan Demme’s Rachel Getting Married is not your usual Hollywood frock frolic. Kate Hudson is nowhere in sight. Instead we get Anne Hathaway in black eyeliner and a severe bob. SheR Read more

Rating breakdown

9,286 Member ratings
  • 100
1,688
  • 90
1,320
  • 80
1,987
  • 70
1,477
  • 60
1,053
  • 50
604
  • 40
333
  • 30
302
  • 20
346
  • 10
176

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    • Festen
    • DVD: £6.93
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    • RRP £19.79 (you save: 65%)
    • A man celebrates his sixtieth birthday with friends, relatives, his wife and children. This is a film about love, hate, the icy charm of the bourgeoisie and the loving arms of the chambermaid. Danish ...