Danish ‘Celebration’ A Bizarre, Dark Comedy About Family Foibles

Late last December, when the final variation on the old Magic Lantern Cinemas gave up its art-house ghost, a moviegoing spirit deserted Spokane.

The Lincoln Heights Cinemas soon reverted to screening first-run films, and just like that Spokane became the Tatooine of movie towns. No more alternative movies. No more subtitles.

Then Kathryn Graham, one of the longtime partners during the old Magic Lantern’s longest run (1989-97) at success, hatched a plan: Until the day comes when Spokane proves itself capable of supporting another alternative movie house, she would — with the help of Metropolitan Mortgage — hold an ongoing, if irregular, film series at The Met.

In March, she screened the classic “Casablanca.” Her latest offering is Thomas Vinterberg’s “The Celebration,” an utterly bizarre, utterly entertaining family drama/dark comedy whose title is at once functional and ironic.

The Danish movie, which features English subtitles, will show Monday (at 1, 3:30, 6 and 8:30 p.m.) and Tuesday (at 3:30, 6 and 8:30 p.m.). All tickets are $4.

Simply put, “The Celebration” is the family reunion from hell. Its ostensible purpose is to celebrate the 60th birthday of the family patriarch (Hening Moritzen), a fleshy-faced man who seems perpetually in his cups.

But who wouldn’t be, what with children like the drunkenly diffident elder son Christian (Ulrich Thomsen), drunkenly abusive younger son Michael (Thomas Bo Larsen) and drunkenly spacy daughter Helene (Paprika Steen), not to mention Helen’s twin who - drunkenly, no doubt - has just recently committed suicide?

The conceit of “The Celebration” is that this family is oppressed by dark secrets. Though dysfunctional to its core, it has progressed through the years by putting on a brave face and, as occurs throughout most the movie, by pretending that all is all right.

But when Christian stands up at dinner and, drink in hand to deliver a toast in honor of his father, accuses the old man of raping him and his sister as children, things begin to change.

The change doesn’t occur right away. The spirit of denial can be strong, and the urge is strong to punish the messenger. Gradually, though, the bright light of truth begins to unveil every shadowy corner of this family history. For only then can the true celebration begin.

If this all sounds a bit moody, you’ve been paying attention. But it is Vinterberg’s skill that he imbues his film with a farcical feel that balances out the harshest parts.

Along with the alcoholism, sexual abuse, incest and blatant racism, Vinterberg provides us with character portrayals that (with the possible exception of Papa) are never less than human and which run the full range from tragedy to comedy.

Vinterberg’s style helps. A colleague of Lars Von Trier (“Breaking the Waves”), Vinterberg has made this, his first feature, in a manner that adheres to Von Trier’s so-called Dogma Manifesto. Shot in video and blown up to 35mm, “The Celebration” is rough, grainy, uses no special effects, is shot exclusively on hand-held cameras and employs only natural sounds, etc. The result: At times, the moviegoer seems to witness what happens very much like the proverbial fly on the wall.

The response internationally, at least at film festivals, has been impressive. Vinterberg was named “European Discovery of the Year” at the 1998 European Film Awards.

The film won a special jury prize at Cannes ‘98, and it won Best Foreign Language Film honors from the Independent Spirit Awards, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and New York Film Critics Circle.

Yet the questions for this two-day showing are more important to the local movie scene: Will Spokane see fit to embrace “The Celebration”? And does any vestige of the old Magic Lantern still haunt these little-big-city streets?

Kathryn Graham, bless her innocent soul, is betting that she knows both answers: Yes.

” The Celebration” Location: The Met Credits: Written (with Mogens Rukov) and directed by Thomas Vinterberg, starring Ulrich Thomsen, Henning Moritzen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Paprika Steen, Birthe Neumann. In Danish with English subtitles. Running time: 1:45 Rating: R