Festen (1998): An Uncomfortably Realistic Farce

Irony, realism, and disquieting elements of farce mixed with tragedy is what comes to mind when I think of Thomas Vinterberg's 'Festen'. It is not a comfortable, lighthearted watch by any means. The combination of Dogme 95’s method of filming and the brutally honest storyline can be almost overpowering and anxiety-inducing. I was on the edge of my seat throughout the entire 105 minutes, barely daring to breathe or move!

From IMDb: "At Helge's 60th birthday party, some unpleasant family truths are revealed."

The camera is unsteady and moves around as it follows Christian, making his way to his old family home for father Helge’s 60^th birthday. We are then introduced to Christian’s brothers and sisters as they also travel to their father’s mansion house, for what should have been a happy occasion. The viewer is thrown into the action of the story right away, with the loud, harsh noises of squealing tires on gravel paths, ringing bells, slamming of doors, shrieking car horns, strained motor engines, and aggressive slapping of backs and shoulders. Even in the opening scenes there is a chaotic, almost angry atmosphere (and this pretty much carries on throughout the entirety of the film). The aggressive shoulder slapping between Christian and his brother Michael clues us in to the fact that Christian isn’t exactly welcome at his father’s birthday party – we later find out why he isn’t welcome, in one of the most uncomfortable dinner party scenes I’ve ever had to watch…

There are no flashbacks or cuts to other moments in the narratives’ timeline, so as viewers we are forced to stay in the present, almost as though we too are family members forced to stick through the severely humiliating, tragic dinner party as silent witnesses. The atmosphere is almost claustrophobic as Christian reads out the green speech revealing the dark secrets kept in his family (ironically at Helge’s request).

Saving face is probably one of the most important key themes to this film. Even Christian’s brutally honest speech did nothing to phase the rest of the guests at bourgeoise Helge’s party – he is met by stony silence, laughter, and rejection through his many attempts to raise awareness to the issue of Helge’s violent past. The visually and auditorily aggressive ways the house guests dance, scream with laughter, and party, looked almost like a way to save face and forget about the tension throughout the embarrassment of Helge’s birthday.

Through Christian’s very bold move of revealing the abuse they suffered as children, the anger and despair shown by him and his siblings, Michael and Helene, becomes very understandable and easily sympathised with. While Michael is every bit as wild, chaotic, and violent as the story itself, his extreme emotions and unpredictability made him probably the most interesting character, in my opinion. Towards the end of the film he redeemed himself a lot in my eyes by bringing a sense of justice to Helge, who deserved what he got, and much more.

In a way, watching Festen feels almost like being a fly on the wall, watching as the events in Helge’s family unfold. Being filmed entirely on a 35mm handheld camera made Festen raw and intimate; the style is eerily reminiscent of watching an old documentary or family home video. I really do think this film will be sticking with me for a long time, and it will be a while before I forget what happened at Helge's 60th birthday celebration… Part of what makes this film so powerful and memorable is how realistic it feels, both in storyline and in the method of filming.

Overall: ★★★★☆

Get Real: Flash Fiction Inspired by the Dogme 95 Manifesto

In the Reading the World module we have been looking at a variety of media from around the world; this includes books, films, music videos, gallery exhibits... anything you can think of, really. Some of my favourite films and stories originate from different countries around the world, and I always want to experience new cultures, so this module is ideal for me.

I had never heard of the Dogme 95 movement or watched a Danish film before, so learning about Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg's filmmaking manifesto was exciting. Their approach to film is raw and realistic, not sparing us any discomfort - and that isn't necessarily a bad thing!
I will be reviewing Festen (or "The Celebration" in English) in another post. Since it was my first taste of such a gritty, realistic film made entirely on a handheld camera, it gave me lots of new ideas on how to approach my own scripts and filmmaking.

The Dogme 95 manifesto could also be interpreted through fiction. As a group of storytellers, we came up with a set of rules called the 'DogReal Fiction Manifesto', inspired by the techniques of the Dogme 95 movement. The challenge is to create a piece of flash fiction that adheres to these rules!

DogReal Fiction Manifesto:
1. No happy endings
2. No magic unless it is the magic of dreams and nightmares
3. Only realistic locations/settings
4. Authentic speech including digressions, pauses, repetitions, verbal ticks etc
5. First person narratives only
6. No stereotypes
7. Linear timeline except when the protagonist experiences time differently
8. No Deus ex machina
9. No similes, metaphors, personification or other literary flourishes
10. Plots must be true to the character’s motivations and psychology
11. Author must not be credited.

My interpretation of this manifesto is that it must be true to real life. In that case, my flash (non)fiction will be written like a diary entry, no flourishes or embellishments allowed. Here is how I experimented with these rules:

I entered my house through the porch door.

“Bye, Nana. Thanks for going with me to the gallery. Bye! Bye!” I said.

“Hello, doggies,” I said. “I hope you’ve been good,” I said.

“See you later, pet,” my grandmother said. She closed the door behind her.

“Have you been good?” I said to the animals in the kitchen.

I placed my handbag and scarf on the dining room table. I walked to the kettle and flicked the switch.

“Tea,” I said.

I poured the water and let the teabag steep. Scrrpt. A noise in the hallway caught my attention.

I went from the kitchen to the porch door. Something colourful was in the letter slot. I knew the morning’s mail had already arrived. I picked up the paper and read it.

“Heh,” I said.

It was a flyer. What was written on the paper surprised me:

Conspiracy theory talk advertisements signed by a person called ‘Amazing Steve’.

“What even is this?” I said. “What kind of spam-?”

I folded the paper and put it in my handbag. An idea came to me, that I was being watched through the porch window as I read the flyer. That I had angered a certain amazing person by saying “heh”.

I closed the door.

“Indy,” I said. “Come here.”

I poured lactose-free milk from the fridge into my mug and added half a teaspoon of sugar. I sat at the kitchen table and read a book. 

As you can see, this sounds stilted, repetitive, and strange. The style of writing (and sordid gossip) in my own diary is more interesting than this, I believe. Writing in this way is very dry, but let’s see if I managed to stick to the rules.

1) No happy endings. There is no ending, happy or otherwise.

2) No magic unless it is the magic of dreams and nightmares. No magic either. There’s nothing supernatural about that boring segment of writing, unless ‘Amazing Steve’ has some magic powers that I’m not yet aware of.

3) Only realistic locations/settings. Real life is mundane most of the time, and so is my kitchen and porch.

4) Authentic speech including digressions, pauses, repetitions, verbal ticks etc. Yes. Here you can see the embarrassing way I talk to my loved ones and pets, and how I babble to myself as I go about my day. These kinds of things wouldn’t ever make their way into my future memoirs, if I can help it.

5) First person narratives only. Yes.

6) No stereotypes. Am I stereotyping myself? Who knows!

7) Linear timeline except when the protagonist experiences time differently. To the point of knowing how I make my cup of tea. It’s so linear that it’s boring.

8) No Deus ex machina. Since there’s nothing here that needs a solution, there’s no Deus ex machina.

9) No similes, metaphors, personification or other literary flourishes. I tried to make it as plain as possible.

10) Plots must be true to the character’s motivations and psychology. A boring, everyday moment inspiring a paranoid thought through overactive imagination? That’s true enough to me, and probably most writers, I imagine.

11) Author must not be credited. Well, I won’t write my name at the bottom of this post then.

I think all of the rules have been stuck to in some way, though I don't think I'll ever be writing in the style of the manifesto again! Realism in film and fiction can be interesting, but not to this extent.

Why Write? A Manifesto of Sorts

Welcome to my new blog! This blog will mostly be focused around the reading and creative writing I do at university, however I will also use this space for my reviews and other things too.
Basically, it is an extension of my other blog, Ellie Morris Books (or Nocturne des Anges), which I haven't touched for a while, having had a blogging kind of creative block. Let's hope that my inspiration will come rushing back!

Books I collect - Photo by Ellie Morris

Manifesto
Here are my aims for 2019 and the future:

1. Develop a strong sense of my own poetics.
2. Gain knowledge of and experience other types of writing, such as poetry and scriptwriting. These can feed into my fiction writing, and vice versa. Scriptwriting always seemed intimidating to me before coming to university, so I'm glad to be learning it with the rest of my class!
3. Try out new genres and styles of writing. Before now I never thought I'd be writing a narrative gamebook, or enjoy reading speculative fiction.
4. Take more feedback on board and apply it to my work so that I can make it the best I can.
5. Meet more writers, see what inspires them, and have some opportunities to work collaboratively.
6. Experience the publishing industry. I have self-published before, but I want to try out the more traditional approach to getting my work out there. 

So, why do I write? 
I write because I have so many daydreams that fill my head at all times. I write because I love to read. I write the kind of stories I'd like to read. I write the things I don't want to forget. I write because it's a comfort, something I've always done. I write because I'm lonely. I write because it's fun. I write because it's easier for me to write than it is to speak. I write because I love making up worlds and characters. I write because I want to share my thoughts with others. I write because I feel like it's something I'm skilled at.

History
I first started writing proper stories when I was fourteen, six years ago. Before that I had dabbled in short stories and poetry but never really carried it on due to school being busy. At this age I didn't really have much to do, since I was sick constantly and spent a lot of time at home. I started reading more and found myself very interested in Stephen King. He is still a great inspiration to me.

One book in particular made me want to write. It was a long and heavy book with a whole laundry list of characters, many of which didn't add much to the plot. A very interesting character was introduced in one chapter and was killed off within ten or so pages, which frustrated me enough to write a 40,000 word story for him myself. In other words, I started off with fanfiction. From there, I was hooked.

Since 2013 I have written one novel and one novella, at a total of over 200,000 words. Currently I have a third novel in the works and am studying Creative Writing at university.
Being on this writing course has really boosted my confidence in sharing my work with others, as well as allowed me to see the areas in which my writing needs improvement. Before starting university I was very touchy about other people reading my work, but now I don't think twice about it!

♕

P.S. If anybody is curious about the name of my new blog, it's a play on a character's name from the Jeeves books by P.G. Wodehouse. Gussie Fink-Nottle's name amuses me when I read it, so I thought I'd give my blog a name that can make me smile, along with fitting in with the theme of nostalgia (forget me not flowers) and history that I like to incorporate in my work.

Ellie