WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS.
I went into this film without knowing much about Vinterberg, Dogma 95, or the film itself. The more I read and learn about all three of these things, the more the movie makes sense. Vinterberg does a great job of capturing the true purpose behind the Dogma 95 commandments. The film is truly a Dogma one, with natural lighting, hand held cameras, a basic set and no clear genre. The actors portray the feeling of the film very well and really embody the characters they play. Vinterberg does a good job of complementing the story line with the Dogma 95 style and portraying themes of relationships and deceit.
The film begins with the main character, Christian walking down a dirt road through a field. He is picked up by his crazy brother Michael and brought to a lodge to celebrate their father's 60th birthday. Several other family members, including their sister, Helene, join. We quickly find out that their other sister has recently passed away and learn later that she committed suicide. It goes on to show some of the relationships between different family members and friends, building to the scene where they all sit down for the patriarch's birthday dinner. When Christian, the oldest son, is asked to give a toast, he asks his father to pick between two prepared speeches he holds in his hand. He proceeds to reveal to the whole group that he and his late twin sister were sexually abused by his father as a child. As the film progresses, we find more and more as the family tries to determine who is telling the truth-Helge or Christian. In the end we find that even families that seem fairly normal can have deep, dark, disturbing secrets.
The Dogma nature of this film creates a story that seems real, probable, and eerily relatable. Vingerberg uses the commandments to create something that seems incredibly realistic, like the story is being told from the perspective of a home video or a fly on the wall. This "real-feel" makes the abuse accusation and discussion painfully realistic. We hear of abuse among celebrity couples, or see it on crime shows on TV or in Hollywood movies. But all these sources glamorize the act and make it seem like something that will never happen to us; something that only happens on TV. In The Celebration, without all the lights, filters and special effects, you get the feeling that you're really sitting in the room, listening to Christian expose the horrible truths of his childhood and his sister's. It's disturbing and powerful in a way that no Hollywood or mainstream film could match. It makes you question what you would do in Christian's situation, in the father's, in the family members'. Vinterberg did a great job of making the style of filming complement the story.
Relationships-especially unhealthy ones-are a common theme throughout this film. It is obvious that the relationship between Christian and his father was unhealthy, with the ultimate example being the father's reason for why he abused Christian and his sister. One can infer, however, that the other siblings do not have a great connection with their father either. In the beginning the receptionist at the lodge alluded to some troubles between Michael and his father. Helene also seems to disagree with her father on many points. In addition, Michael and his wife have an extremely toxic relationship. He seems to have no problem degrading her, even in front of the children. The one sex scene in the movie depicts him forcing her to have very rough sex with him. He blames her for everything, including his own clumsiness and irresponsibility. The relationship between Helene and Gbatokai seems alright when it is just the two of them, but the disapproval from Helene's family seems to greatly affect her and cause problems between them. There are very few, if any, positive relationships to look to as role models and this seems to have caused a family full of dysfunctional relationships. This theme follows the Nordic tradition of showing a realistic family where things are not always perfect.
Deceit is also a theme in this film. For most of the story line the father maintains that he never abused the children. He managed to keep the abuse hidden from his wife and the rest of the family for much of the children's lives and also maintain a "good dad" image. He also denies the abuse to Christian's face. Helge lives a lie throughout most of the film to try to keep up his image. The cook, Kim also seemed to be in on the secret but did not let Helge know that he knew. He continued to serve the father and the rest of as usual until he assists Christian in getting the truth heard. The surviving sister, Helene also keeps her mouth shut and pretends she doesn't know anything for a good portion of the film. When she finds the note hidden by her sister she knows about the abuse. She could have used this information to help Christian earlier on but she pretended to not know anything about it. The truth many of the characters hide is an important and prevalent aspect of the film.
The Celebration demonstrates a good use of the Dogma 95 characteristics and relatable themes. Vinterberg created film that even to those who have not been victims of abuse can connect with. The combination of the realistic filming and the real-life problems like unhealthy relationship and deceit make it a film that pulls the viewer into a world that could be his or her own. It is emotional and difficult to watch at times, but the chaos of the story keeps you watching. Overall, it is an interesting story and a good example of the Dogma 95 films.
I went into this film without knowing much about Vinterberg, Dogma 95, or the film itself. The more I read and learn about all three of these things, the more the movie makes sense. Vinterberg does a great job of capturing the true purpose behind the Dogma 95 commandments. The film is truly a Dogma one, with natural lighting, hand held cameras, a basic set and no clear genre. The actors portray the feeling of the film very well and really embody the characters they play. Vinterberg does a good job of complementing the story line with the Dogma 95 style and portraying themes of relationships and deceit.
The film begins with the main character, Christian walking down a dirt road through a field. He is picked up by his crazy brother Michael and brought to a lodge to celebrate their father's 60th birthday. Several other family members, including their sister, Helene, join. We quickly find out that their other sister has recently passed away and learn later that she committed suicide. It goes on to show some of the relationships between different family members and friends, building to the scene where they all sit down for the patriarch's birthday dinner. When Christian, the oldest son, is asked to give a toast, he asks his father to pick between two prepared speeches he holds in his hand. He proceeds to reveal to the whole group that he and his late twin sister were sexually abused by his father as a child. As the film progresses, we find more and more as the family tries to determine who is telling the truth-Helge or Christian. In the end we find that even families that seem fairly normal can have deep, dark, disturbing secrets.
The Dogma nature of this film creates a story that seems real, probable, and eerily relatable. Vingerberg uses the commandments to create something that seems incredibly realistic, like the story is being told from the perspective of a home video or a fly on the wall. This "real-feel" makes the abuse accusation and discussion painfully realistic. We hear of abuse among celebrity couples, or see it on crime shows on TV or in Hollywood movies. But all these sources glamorize the act and make it seem like something that will never happen to us; something that only happens on TV. In The Celebration, without all the lights, filters and special effects, you get the feeling that you're really sitting in the room, listening to Christian expose the horrible truths of his childhood and his sister's. It's disturbing and powerful in a way that no Hollywood or mainstream film could match. It makes you question what you would do in Christian's situation, in the father's, in the family members'. Vinterberg did a great job of making the style of filming complement the story.
Relationships-especially unhealthy ones-are a common theme throughout this film. It is obvious that the relationship between Christian and his father was unhealthy, with the ultimate example being the father's reason for why he abused Christian and his sister. One can infer, however, that the other siblings do not have a great connection with their father either. In the beginning the receptionist at the lodge alluded to some troubles between Michael and his father. Helene also seems to disagree with her father on many points. In addition, Michael and his wife have an extremely toxic relationship. He seems to have no problem degrading her, even in front of the children. The one sex scene in the movie depicts him forcing her to have very rough sex with him. He blames her for everything, including his own clumsiness and irresponsibility. The relationship between Helene and Gbatokai seems alright when it is just the two of them, but the disapproval from Helene's family seems to greatly affect her and cause problems between them. There are very few, if any, positive relationships to look to as role models and this seems to have caused a family full of dysfunctional relationships. This theme follows the Nordic tradition of showing a realistic family where things are not always perfect.
Deceit is also a theme in this film. For most of the story line the father maintains that he never abused the children. He managed to keep the abuse hidden from his wife and the rest of the family for much of the children's lives and also maintain a "good dad" image. He also denies the abuse to Christian's face. Helge lives a lie throughout most of the film to try to keep up his image. The cook, Kim also seemed to be in on the secret but did not let Helge know that he knew. He continued to serve the father and the rest of as usual until he assists Christian in getting the truth heard. The surviving sister, Helene also keeps her mouth shut and pretends she doesn't know anything for a good portion of the film. When she finds the note hidden by her sister she knows about the abuse. She could have used this information to help Christian earlier on but she pretended to not know anything about it. The truth many of the characters hide is an important and prevalent aspect of the film.
The Celebration demonstrates a good use of the Dogma 95 characteristics and relatable themes. Vinterberg created film that even to those who have not been victims of abuse can connect with. The combination of the realistic filming and the real-life problems like unhealthy relationship and deceit make it a film that pulls the viewer into a world that could be his or her own. It is emotional and difficult to watch at times, but the chaos of the story keeps you watching. Overall, it is an interesting story and a good example of the Dogma 95 films.
