The Guest

The day before Karl and Emilie’s son’s naming party, Karl’s estranged mother Vibeke arrives unannounced. Hoping to rejoin the family and prove herself as a grandmother, she inserts herself into the intimate weekend gathering at a seaside hotel. While Karl is furious, his sister Rikke insists Vibeke deserves a second chance. Over the course of the weekend, tensions rise, old patterns resurface, and long-buried family dynamics play out in front of confused in-laws and curious guests. What begins as a celebration quietly unravels into a confrontation with the past, filled with missteps, unresolved wounds, and moments of surprising warmth.

The Guest is a sharply observed drama about roles we inherit, the people we try to become, and the impossibility of ever fully escaping where we come from. Told with both humor and heart, it’s a story about a family trying to hold it together when everything starts to fall apart.

REVIEWS

A stunner

Robert Daniels, RogerEbert.com

Superbly acted and supremely uncomfortable

Wendy Ide, Screen International

A virtuosic yet restrained performance

Jessica Kiang, Variety

Trine Dyrholm Gives a Scorcher of a Performance

Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter

A magnetic performance with all guns blazing

Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

Comedy and tragedy in equally beautiful parts

Olivia Popp, Cineuropa