Festen - A film about a very f*cked up family.

Even the most loving and functional families have their skeletons in the closet, but I’d wager not many of them have a corpse in the bathtub. The Klingenfeldt-Hansen family certainly does however, and that’s far from the only secret they're hiding.

After the family meet for a 60th birthday meal, our protagonist Christian gets up to make a speech and presents his father with two choices, one of which is a wholly typical speech, praising his father with all the usual 'couldn't have a better father' type of guff. The other, however, is the truth. The father unknowingly picks the truth option, and Christian reads the speech to the horror and shock of the rest of the family, resulting in a chaotic and uncertain night in which the deep-running secrets of the family are placed on full display for all their relatives to see. Awkward silences, emotional outbursts and violent altercations ensue, ultimately climaxing with the children of the family facing their inner demons.

Festen is the first Dogme 95 film – a filmmaking movement started by two Danish directors in order to revolutionize the way movies are made. The Dogme manifesto set out a list of rules in order to make films feel more realistic and authentic. This included many practical considerations including using no sound or music that wasn’t already in the scene, only using natural lighting, and recording with a handheld camera.

Having read this, I was initially dubious about Festen. Such extreme measures felt unnecessary to me, and I believed the restrictions these rules would cause may prove detrimental to the overall movie and detract crucial elements from the story.

I am happy to say I was wrong. Festen was a thoroughly entertaining flick, with inspired direction, brilliant acting, and a simple but truly effective story. The gritty style perfectly matched the dark tone of the movie, and the handheld cinematography actually drew us into the scenes, making the absurd and dark moments in the film feel all the more authentic.

The cinematography served to enhance the creepy vibes, taking the form of a spectator rather than a participant in many of the scenes across the house. The director, Thomas Vinterberg, more than likely intended this to reflect the point of view of Linda, the deceased sister that had committed suicide in the bath tub earlier. These shots helped to create a feeling that she was watching over the proceedings, haunting the house and giving us an eerie view of the drama.

Christian, as well as his brother Michael and sister Helene, who made up the three central protagonists of the film, were all interesting and excellently portrayed. They were written as flawed characters that are struggling to come to terms with their families dark history, and the emotion conveyed by the actors was both intense and convincing, creating a strong sense of a family in peril. 

Overall, Festen felt real and authentic, and kept the drama in abundance despite the restrictions imposed by the Dogme manifesto.. The story was moving, the characters were deep and flawed, the camera work was inspired, and it felt fresh as a film that was focused solely on the story rather than high-budget visual effects and overused formulas of Hollywood, and ultimately should be remembered as a unique, innovative movie that lead a revolution in film with its simple yet wholly effective storytelling.