Talk about dysfunctional families!! This movie is a real shocker ... expect the unexpected, all the way through. Very creative, profound and heart-wrenching breaking of the family silence about dark secrets. You cannot watch this movie and not be changed, outraged and shaken.

Gee, if you think your family has skeletons in its closet or its gatherings are awkward, check out these guys. A wealthy Danish man is celebrated by friends and family at his manor for his 60th birthday, an event clouded by the recent suicide of one of his daughters. What starts off as light satire of the affluent, heightened by the home-movie-like realism that director Thomas Vinterberg got out of using handheld cameras, soon segues to much darker areas. It's a mesmerizing mix of comedy and pathos, and engaging throughout.

I won't spoil it, but there is lots of incredibly bad behavior, some overt and stemming from how entitled these people are, and some complicit, protecting their insular world. Nothing shows just how much they are willing to sweep things under the rug than when some of the truths about the past come out, and one of the sons is aggressively taken out into the woods. Nothing shows just how bigoted the group is than when one of the other sons starts singing a racist song to antagonize a black guest (the man his sister is dating) and everyone happily joins in. The father saying the line "that's all you were good for" was like a knife to the heart, and the subtlety of the son's reaction (Ulrich Thomsen) is heartbreaking. The unique style of the film and moments like this make it memorable, and it's worth seeking out.

What a film. Apparently the first of the dogme series of films (hand held camera, natural lighting, no backing track etc.). Forget that. This is brilliant in its own right as a 'family' drama. I was hooked from 20 minutes in. A fascinating insight into how human beings will brush abhorrent past crimes under the metaphorical carpet if it means continuation of their privileged lives. Human drama at its best. 10 out of ten