Written and Directed by Thomas Vinterberg
Cinematography by Anthony Dod Mantle

Ulrich Thomsen as Christian Henning Moritzen as Father Thomas Bo Larsen as Michael Paprika Steen as Helene Birthe Neumann as Mother Trine Dyrholm as Pia Helle Dolleris as Mette Bjarne Henriksen as Cook Gbatokai Dakinah as Gbatokai Therese Glahn as Michelle Klaus Bondam as Master of Ceremony Lasse Lunderskov as Uncle

Running Time: 105 min.
Release Date: Oct. '98

Overall Call:
The Celebration is the first film delivered from Dogme 95 Films. The Company distributes films held to a strict "Vow of Chastity", as they call it. Only hand held cameras, filming done entirely on location and sound outside of the actual locations sound is forbidden are just a few of the requirements to their films. This may seem a bit heavy handed, but they have turned out some fine films (check out their web site its interesting). All that said, this is a great film. The story is well written and told. There are some twists to the characters that keep you on your toes (that's all I'll say to save spoilers). The acting is all very solid. Holding true to their creed it's shot primarily in one location and boy is it a good one. The mansion used is rich in character and in a way becomes a separate entity in the story. The film might take a couple of viewings in order to catch all the specific details. Subtitles usually require an extra viewing to catch stuff I miss while reading. Still this film is worth watching again and again. The story is kind of heavy with the inter family relations that are exposed throughout. I highly recommend this film, it's worth finding and renting.

Reasons For Recommendation:
+ Consistent with Dogme 95 films -not your typical Hollywood film
+ Shot with great visual texture
+ Involving story