Note: The following is Dogme 95 film review where the writer of this review has chosen to write a film review in 1000 or less. The idea of the review is to strip down the aesthetics and excess of previous film reviews. In spirit to the Dogme 95 movement, the writer has chosen not to receive any financial profit from this review. Instead, only gaining an artistic satisfaction in being true to the Dogme 95 brotherhood. For more information on Dogme 95, read De Lutrede (The Purified): http://www.epinions.com/content_4020215940

Thomas Vinterberg's Festen (The Celebration), which is known as Dogme # 1 (according to the Dogme 95 manifesto), is an ominous film about a Danish man’s 60th birthday celebration gathered by a large family that implodes through dark family secrets relating to a suicide of the man's daughter. Based on Vinterberg’s idea that was written into script with Dogme 95 specialist Mogens Rukov, Festen is a dark family drama that is filled with surprising subplots and character studies that is intense and harrowing amidst the ominous tone of the party that goes on in the film. Shot entirely in handheld Sony PC-7E 35mm camera by Vinterberg and cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle, Festen is a landmark film in its technical achievements and its emphasis on storytelling, as it would mark the beginning of the Dogme 95 movement that was founded by Vinterberg and Lars von Trier.

The film begins as a French-based restaurateur from Denmark named Christian Klingenfeldt (Ulrich Thomsen) is walking to the Danish countryside to visit his father Helge (Henning Moritzen) for his 60th birthday celebration where many people from his family and servants will join him. On his way walking to the Klingenfeldt manor, he sees a car driven by his younger brother Michael (Thomas Bo Larsen), who stops to let him ride while he lets his wife Mette (Helle Dolleris) and their children walk to the mansion. Upon their arrival, Michael learns from the receptionist (Lars Brygmann) that he wasn't invited because of Michael's drunken behavior the last time he was in the house. The brothers wait for their sister Helene (Paprika Steen), who has just arrived. She scolds Michael for not coming to the funeral of Christian's twin sister Linda (Lene Laub Oksen).

With more relatives arriving, Christian goes into his room where he meets maid and lover Pia (Trine Dyrholm) while Helene goes into the room that belonged to her deceased sister with the receptionist. Helene begins to see clues linking to her sister's suicide where she eventually, found a note. She told the receptionist, it was nothing but in truth, it was a key that would unlock everything. Michael meanwhile, is upset that Mette didn't pack the shoes he needed to wear for his father's party. With more relatives arriving, Christian meets his father and mother Elsie (Birthe Neumann) about his work and relationships with women. With the celebration about to begin, a maid named Michelle (Therese Glahn) is looking at Michael to Mette's suspicions and it seems everything would be fine. After the MC (Klaus Bondam) begins the celebration, Christian makes a speech where he sets off some things but later claimed it was a joke.

He joins the kitchen with his childhood friend and master chef Kim (Bjarne Henriksen), who knows what Christian is planning. He just couldn't believe Christian is chickening out where Christian had a second note for his plan. Meanwhile, Helene waits for her African-American boyfriend Gbatokai (Gbatokai Dakinah), to the annoyance of the hotheaded, racist Michael. The celebration continues when Christian finally toasts to his father, who calls him a rapist and murderer in reference to his dead twin sister. Everything goes into chaos where Helge privately talks to Christian and threatens to expose more secrets. The family wants to leave but Kim and the younger staff members decided to hide the keys knowing that a chain of events is about to happen. Christian is forced out of the party repeatedly after talking about an incident his mother saw when he was a child as everything goes into chaos. Gbatokai wants to make a toast to Christian but Helene had enough, especially with Michael wanting the family to sing a racist song while he tries to hide a secret affair with Michelle from Mette.

After Christian frees himself from a tree where Michael and family members tied him up, Pia finds the note Helene tried to hide where she reads the note. Immediately, everything falls apart where the family is shattered, repressed feelings comes out and insanity emerges until the next morning where whatever closeness everyone had is gone.

With its Dogme aesthetics, the movie is used with natural sound and lighting with no filters being fixed or any post-production dubbing. Also, there's no set decorations or any accompanying musical score except music that is actually played from a stereo or some object. The idea of Dogme 95 is to take things back to basics in the idea of filmmaking. With just a small crew including a sound mixer, a cinematographer, the uncredited director, and assistants, the film has a purity that hasn’t been seen since the early years of film. The directing of the film is very spellbinding with its hand-held camera shots and angles where everything feels a bit jerky but very realistic. Notably Anthony Dod Mantle's grainy but exquisite cinematography where everything seems realistic in its picture. We're seeing things the way they're seen in the naked eye though lighting wouldn't really hurt but being true to Dogme, it looks very real.

While the film has wonderful technical achievements in natural sounds from mixer Morten Holm while editor Valdis Oskarsdottir brings a nice, jump cut style of editing that really helps the pacing of the film. The really true aspect of Dogme 95 is its emphasis of storytelling where the film's script by Thomas Vinterberg and Mogens Rukov really specializes not just on character study but also an underlying momentum that builds up a moment of suspense. Once the film begins, you know something is going to happen with this chain of events. The result not only help the performances of all the actors be realistic but everyone in that film brings a spectacular performance with the biggest standouts as Ulrich Thomsen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Paprika Steen, and Henning Mortizen. The acting overall plays more to realism while the actors even improvise mostly throughout the film. In the end, Festen is truly a landmark film in cinema from Dogme 95 co-founder, Thomas Vinterberg.

Dogme # 2-Idioterne:

http://www.epinions.com/content_366587448964


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for Groups
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age