Title: The Guest
Foreign Title: Gæsten
Year: 2026
Country: Denmark
Language: In Danish with English subtitles
Director: Mads Mengel
Cast: Click Here to See the cast and Crew
She’s not invited” is an ominous statement of an old and timeless theme that never gets tired.
This protest slipped out of the mouth of a young father (Karl) when he discovers that his mentally ill mother, whom he hasn’t seen in years, has arrived at a family and friends retreat to celebrate the christening of his newborn son.
The mood drops as he sees his sister’s face (Rilke) as she receives a phone call, announcing that his mother (Vibeke) has arrived; minutes before she crashes a quiet lunch with his very close in-laws. Vibeke is fantastically played by Trine Dyrholm, devolving from charismatic and amiable to inappropriately exuberant and onward to a frenzied fury.
The director Mads Mengel has masterly woven together the various pieces of story-telling to create a well-crafted tale. A shout-out must go to the sound designer. Andreas Sandborg and cinematographer David Bauer who have created an atmosphere of turbulence ranging from convivial gentleness to tumultuous upheavals. The opening scene with a cacophonous sound of a careless driver’s seat belt, banging against the pavement coupled with soothing ambient music in the dining room of the retreat, describes the swinging emotional tone of the story.
Despite all the years trying to manage their mother’s emotional volatility, Karl and Rilke are thrown back into the depths of their traumatized childhood. No one outside the situation will understand why they can never get over it, through it or past it. They can only hold on tightly to each other and they are alone.
