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Festen
1998
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: , Watch Online: |
| 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. |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews
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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.
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Most helpful member's review
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44 out of 45 people found this review helpful
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 like you have never heard before. A more stunning piece of writing, directing and acting you will not find. Dogma or no dogma, pictures and sound play a minor role in this brutal timeless drama.
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Most recent members' review
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3 out of 3 people found this review helpful
One of the best ever
I've got a festish for moody Scandanavian drama and this serves it up by the bucketloads. A look at families and the secrets and lies they conceal, this film is cringingly real in the way people will deny what is in front of them if it forces them to get out of their comfort zone.
The film lingered in my memory for some days afterwards. Superbly scripted and acted... if you love movies check this out! -
News and features
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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
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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 ... -