The Guest Review (2026 Karlovy Vary IFF)
There is something uniquely uncomfortable about the tensions brewing around a family table. Even more so when the gathering occasion calls for celebrations, in the dressed-up, sequins-and-ties-and-heels company of everyone affiliated with the family. It’s a well-fitting setup for laying bare the internal drama in all its greatness, don’t you think?
Danish films have been entertaining us in this regard, uncovering the dark humor born of pain during family feasts, with the primest of all examples The Celebration (1998), the landmark feature that kicked off the Dogma ’95 movement, followed 18 years later by The Commune. For these two reasons, Thomas Vinterberg has gained my trust in accepting and staying with family strains that go just a bit too far. Trine Dyrholm (a ‘family member’ on all the aforementioned titles) is the quintessential face of a charged moment that grabs your attention and won’t leave you until she is also an entangled part of the unresolvable conflict.
With this legacy in the background, and Dyrholm as the ‘guest’ of the hour, director Mads Mengel is stepping in with a first feature that guarantees 99 restless minutes. Here’s the premise: Karl has gathered friends and family to the seaside to celebrate the name-giving of his firstborn when his estranged mother, Vibeke, arrives with relentless intentions of actively rejoining the family. While everyone present is holding their breaths in perpetual anguish, no one really speaks of what makes Vibeke a figure of such apprehension. Although there are signs of mental fracture, Vibeke is mainly presented (at least in front of the camera) as unconventionally spontaneous. This choice, next to the slightly overexposed yet sharp image, directly interrogates the suffocating boundaries of (Danish) social conformity, clearly equating social expectations with social restrictions to offer a sharp critique of the contemporary, septic norm; one under which the whole family of Karl is slowly drowning.
From the onset, the camera is our whimsical guide, one that does not find rest and is, alongside us, looking for clues in the tightest of corners. The camera insists on ceaseless, interrogating face zooms, and the boiling point is approaching. But Vibeke hardly ever meets with her supposedly insufferable or offensive side. Instead, the dread of escalation reveals a wider, outstretched battle: The newest member to the family receives his name and respective spot among an otherwise caring company of relatives, but existing members still wrestle for a place of their own.
It’s funny how acceptance wears such a laborious mask for those we share the most with (namely, bloodline and foundational experiences). It’s even funnier how roles switch around, led by personal conviction, stubbornness, and defense. Which leads us to the joker card: forgiveness.
The Guest is as funny as itching, like a hastily scabbed wound, leaving a lasting, bitter and unconcluded aftertaste—much like a long, repeating argument. For a debut, it’s only refreshing to see how a focused vision and an acknowledgment of foundational, precedent works can allow such a clear, new voice to emerge.
★★★★ 1/2
Premiered at the 2026 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival as part of the Crystal Globe Competition / Director: Mads Mengel / Screenplay: Mads Mengel, Christian Bengtson / Dir. of Photography: David Bauer / Denmark
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