A different and interesting movie with some important message delivery.
After witnessing what Thomas Vinterberg has done in the Hunt (2012), a masterpiece of Danish cinema, I had to check out other works that he had made, which took me back all the way to 1998 and to Festen, a recent directorial debut for the young Thomas. Although it discusses the same topic as the Hunt, it has a very unique a different approach to it.
In Festen we witness a rich family dinner in Denmark, and we see the spiral towards some dark discoveries as the hours go by. What seems to be in the beginning another typical eccentric rich family gathering, becomes an uncomfortable reunion where some very serious matters are brought to the table.
The message the movie conveys is daunting and yet I find it highly relevant, we as a society, specially in big gatherings and reunions, have a standard set of rules of politeness that we follow and one would be considered rude or an actual outcast if he /she wouldn't abide by those rules, in Festen this is taken to the extreme (or maybe not), and it criticizes how those standards we follow, cause sometimes for us to awkwardly ignore major issues that can be unfolding right in front of our eyes, and we choose the superficial approach.
Now it would be legitimate to ask why I haven't given a much higher score then? Well for starters, I've read some previews reviews, including some from Danish people, who claim that this exposes a real issue with special importance in their society given how superficial they are, I cannot of course speak for this as I 'm not Danish so although the message is critical, it doesn't touch me probably as it does to Denmark nationals if this represents the truth.
Adding to that, and although I do believe that Thomas is an amazing director and this was an innovative approach, I am not a fan of the camera work and the perspective that we look into the film, a lot of people argue that it brings some realism, almost resembling an amateur camera filming the events, but for me it didn't quite work and it brought some odd feeling while watching it, for me it had the reverse effect, it didn't seem real, I still believe it's a great film regardless and definitely worth watching, if the same message was conveyed in a different manner this would be a 10/10.
After witnessing what Thomas Vinterberg has done in the Hunt (2012), a masterpiece of Danish cinema, I had to check out other works that he had made, which took me back all the way to 1998 and to Festen, a recent directorial debut for the young Thomas. Although it discusses the same topic as the Hunt, it has a very unique a different approach to it.
In Festen we witness a rich family dinner in Denmark, and we see the spiral towards some dark discoveries as the hours go by. What seems to be in the beginning another typical eccentric rich family gathering, becomes an uncomfortable reunion where some very serious matters are brought to the table.
The message the movie conveys is daunting and yet I find it highly relevant, we as a society, specially in big gatherings and reunions, have a standard set of rules of politeness that we follow and one would be considered rude or an actual outcast if he /she wouldn't abide by those rules, in Festen this is taken to the extreme (or maybe not), and it criticizes how those standards we follow, cause sometimes for us to awkwardly ignore major issues that can be unfolding right in front of our eyes, and we choose the superficial approach.
Now it would be legitimate to ask why I haven't given a much higher score then? Well for starters, I've read some previews reviews, including some from Danish people, who claim that this exposes a real issue with special importance in their society given how superficial they are, I cannot of course speak for this as I 'm not Danish so although the message is critical, it doesn't touch me probably as it does to Denmark nationals if this represents the truth.
Adding to that, and although I do believe that Thomas is an amazing director and this was an innovative approach, I am not a fan of the camera work and the perspective that we look into the film, a lot of people argue that it brings some realism, almost resembling an amateur camera filming the events, but for me it didn't quite work and it brought some odd feeling while watching it, for me it had the reverse effect, it didn't seem real, I still believe it's a great film regardless and definitely worth watching, if the same message was conveyed in a different manner this would be a 10/10.