The Celebration Directed by: Thomas Vinterberg Starring: Ulrich Thomsen, Henning Moritzen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Paprika Steen, Birthe Neuman Running time: 105 minutes My rating (5 star scale): ****
In Danish with subtitles.
This is the perfect film to see before a family gathering. Whether it's Christmas, an anniversary, a birthday party, whatever; see this movie first. Your dysfuntional family will look perfectly happy and functional in comparison to the folks who make up this movie clan.
Michael, Christian, and Helene have returned home for their father's 60th birthday party. Also at the party, held in a hotel owned by the father and closed for this occasion, are assorted grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, children, spouses, and significant others. Christian, the eldest, is asked to say a few words at dinner about his twin sister, who committed suicide earlier that year. Michael is at first not wanted, because he failed to come to his sister's funeral, but his father later offers to put him up for membership in the Freemasons. Also at the party is a German associate of the father who is to be toastmaster.
What follows are a series of revelations that would keep Jerry Springer in business for years. Everything from affairs to abortions to pedophilia to insanity to lesbians. Christian kicks things off by accusing his father of abusing himself and his sister. But that's just the tip of this family iceberg. The partygoers are uncertain how to react. Some think he is drunk, some think he is joking, some want to leave. But they can't because the cook has stolen all their car keys. They are stuck there and they try to make the best of it.
Michael, the youngest of the surviving children, desperately wants to impress his father. He tries to keep the party going. He gets violent with Christian and he drinks far too much, losing what little self control he has. Helene, meanwhile, is staying in her dead sister's room and hiding a big secret.
Things just get worse when Helene's boyfriend finally shows up. He is black and Michael reveals his racist side. First he tries to get rid of the boyfriend, later he gets everyone singing a racist song. Through all this, the poor German toastmaster tries to keep things going.
And that's just touching the surface. I haven't even touched on the strange marriage and stranger sex of Michael and Mette. Or of the mother's bizarre and spiteful speech. Or the maid who seems to have slept with every available male and possibly one female.
Just in case I've misled you, this isn't a comedy. But, while it deals with some pretty heavy stuff, it isn't nearly as bleak as you'd expect. And while it does read like a Springer wish list (I think they even throw chairs), it's a lot more insightful than anything you'll see on tv. It's closer to Ibsen meets Babette's Feast. Well worth paying full price for.
This is the Danish entry for foreign language Oscar and I give it a good chance of making the short list.
-- Allan Jenoff Check out my web page at http://www.interlog.com/~jenoff/home.html
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