Review of The Celebration (1998) by Spangle — 09 Mar 2016

One of the first works from the avant garde film movement, Dogme 95, The Celebration is a fantastic work from director Thomas Vinterberg. A compelling and thoroughly entertaining look at this broken and dysfunctional family, the film feels almost like a home movie and that we are getting this exclusive behind the scenes look.

In this aspect, the camera work is phenomenal and really puts you into the film and makes it feel as though you are watching this all unfold. The lack of music is an interesting touch that is honestly unnoticeable.

The film did not need a score and did not have one, which really added to the realism of the film as a whole. The acting was fantastic, as was the writing, which really added great depth and authenticity to the various characters in the film.

For a film that did not really focus on a single character as the protagonist, it never felt disjointed and was still incredibly focused. Overall, The Celebration is a fantastic film that is really well made and a powerful look at family.