The Celebration

A Phoenix pick

Sure, cinema needs a major shake-up. And a crew of young Danish directors -- most notably Lars von Trier of Breaking the Waves fame -- has promised to give moviemaking that kick in the pants. Banding together under the banner Dogme 95, they signed a 10-point manifesto promising films that were cheaply made, free of studio trickery, and emotionally truthful. The Celebration is the first film from a director who signed this "vow of chastity," and as far as style is concerned, Thomas Vinterberg delivers: fans of Trier's Kingdom series will recognize the grainy film stock, jittery editing, smeary lighting, and wildly canted camera angles. It's a studied rawness in the service of a powerful but flawed family melodrama.

Three adult children and assorted friends gather at a manor house to celebrate the 60th birthday of the family patriarch. The toasts start out stuffy. Then Christian, the eldest son, speaks up, accusing his father of unspeakable family crimes. By the time the dishes are cleared, all hell has broken loose. Despite the director's bold strokes, The Celebration is at heart a familiar family psychodrama. The film's hating-daddy theme seems just another expression of the Dogme manifesto: brash young directors killing off their stuffy filmmaking forefathers any way they can. Screens at the Copley Place Sunday, September 13 at 1, 3, 5, and 7 p.m.

-- Scott Heller

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Film Festival Feature Films

| With Friends like These | Digging to China | Monument Ave. | Rounders | Lolita | God Said, 'Ha!' | My Son the Fanatic | The Mighty | Shattered Image | Gods and Monsters | Xui Xui: The Sent-Down Girl | Without Limits | Clubland | The Inheritors | The Celebration | Urban Ghost Story | The Boys | Living Out Loud | Stuart Bliss | The General | The Kindness of Strangers | Dancing at Lughnasa | Central Station | The Human Race | Double You Street | Oberwasser -- By U-boat to America | The Witman Boys | The Cruise | Confession of a Sexist Pig | Melting Pot |

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More Boston Film Festival information, film descriptions, and show times

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