Thomas Bo Larsen

In The Celebration (1998), Thomas Bo Larsen's Michael has grievances of his own at the family reunion. Alongside Paprika Steen's Helene, he makes those differences matter: their discomfort is personal, even when they share the occasion. We found the reunion painful because these performances made the people recognisable enough for their behaviour to hurt. Larsen is worth watching here for how fully he belongs among the others, without making Michael seem merely another unhappy relative.

The partnership with director Thomas Vinterberg began with Vinterberg's graduation film in 1993, before The Celebration became Larsen's breakthrough. An early part as a junkie in Nicolas Winding Refn's Pusher (1996) also sits within a career often spent playing troubled, everyday Danish men. Vinterberg continued to give him substantial supporting work, including Theo in The Hunt (2012) and Tommy in Another Round (2020). That recurring ensemble work is the useful way into his career, and the birthday gathering in The Celebration makes the case particularly clearly.

Ulrich Thomsen's Christian keeps that film direct where the writing risks overstatement, while Henning Moritzen gives the father the authority of a birthday patriarch. Larsen has a different job from either of them. With Steen, he helps the gathering feel crowded with separate problems, giving us reasons to watch beyond the central confrontation. The performances make these people recognisable enough for their behaviour to hurt, with Larsen and Steen keeping their discomfort distinct.

There is a caveat to recommending the film as an introduction to his work. The handheld photography sometimes gets between us and the actors, and the writing can press harder than it needs to. The performances keep the confrontation from becoming merely an exercise in making everyone miserable, which is a considerable virtue in a film this distressing. Start with The Celebration, but choose company willing to endure an uncomfortable family reunion.