Overview
Tagline:
Every family has a secret.
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Awards:
Nominated for Golden Globe.
Another 24 wins
&
15 nominations
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User Comments:
God bless the Dogme 95!
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Additional Details
Also Known As:
The Celebration (UK) (USA)
Dogme # 1 - Festen (Denmark) (series title)
Dogme 1 (Denmark)
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Rated R for strong sexual content and language, including references to sexual abuse.
Runtime:
105 min
Aspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1
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MOVIEmeter: 
5% since last week
why?
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Since this is a Dogme-film, there cannot be any non diegetic (artificial) sounds added, no post-production. The camera also needs to be hand-held. So when Christian falls to the floor in the reception and sees his sister, Christian himself had to hold the camera when falling. To achieve the "dizzy" sound, the original cameraman swung the microphone around in the air.
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Goofs:
Continuity: The sister takes the sheet from one of the chairs twice as she uncovers the furniture.
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Quotes:
[
first lines]
[
subtitled version]
Christian Klingenfeldt:
[
on his cellphone] Christian speaking... Hi, I'm here now. I landed this morning. What? Er... Washed? I shaved at the airport if you must know. I shaved at the airport if you must know! I'm fine... right now I'm looking across the fields. At the land of my father. It's beautiful. It makes me want to move back for good, but that'd be problematical. I'll make it. Yes, I suppose it will be... shocking. What?... You're dropping out. O.K. Bye.
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Soundtrack:
Wedding Waltz
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FAQ
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Message Boards
Discuss this title with other users on
IMDb message board for Festen (1998)
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Recommendations
Related Links
I always wanted to watch "Festen" since I knew about the Dogme 95. As any Danish movie, it was released in a unique cultural theater. And, as most of the European movies, in less than 3 weeks, it wasn't...
OK, you'll tell the truth: I don't know why but I didn't watch it on a theater, and I could have done it. I waited for its release in video but all the times I went to the videostore I forgot to rent it. But one year after the release on theaters, it was rolling in Eurochannel (a cable-TV channel. It's all about Europe). I couldn't miss that chance so, on a Friday night, at 22:00, I finally watched it. And what an AMAZING film!!!
At first, the plot seems interesting and simple but after 20 minutes you finally realize how strong and provocative Festen really is. It's about one celebration made by the patriarch of the family Kingenfelt in the hotel where he lives. He's commemorating his 60 years. Christian, the older son, makes a speech where secrets are revealed.
The rules of the Dogme 95 as the use of natural light, camera in the hands, etc, help to create a claustrophobic and confidential clime, like nobody knows that someone is filming them. The scenes look incredibly real. Paprika Steen (Helene) and Ulrich Thomsen (Christian) were more than extraordinary. Paprika is a great actress and I can't stand waiting to watch "Idiotern", the second Dogme, in which she's acting again.
"Festen" is not just a worth watching film. It's a worth watching, re-watching, watching again, renting many times and recording to watch it a hundred times. Being the first Dogme, it's a mark in the cinema's history.
Grade - A+