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The Birthday Party
SummaryThomas, Nora and their teenage daughter Ida live on remote marshland. Social contact is limited, as they only have one neighbour, Cristina, an Italian painter. As the two households plan a surprise birthday party for Nora, strange disturbances begin to occur and unease rolls over the marsh.

The Birthday Party

Metascore
55
User score
User reviews are not available yet
tbd
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Metascore
55
25% Positive
2 Reviews
75% Mixed
6 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
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  • Negative Reviews
May 23, 2026
70
TheWrap
There’s easily another version of this story that could have been the movie of the week on Netflix, but Mysius and her team are too talented, too adroitly adept at merging the universal emotions of their characters with the cultural specificity of this story, to deliver anything less than compelling.
May 23, 2026
67
IndieWire
Mysius is a rigorously attentive filmmaker, obsessed by the small details that make up the frames of a thriller, who I’d love to be served by better material that isn’t such a by-the-numbers thriller.
May 25, 2026
60
The Times
At heart, though, this is just a suspense movie with some decent twists and an excellent turn from Tawba El Gharchi as Ida, Thomas and Nora’s fiery young daughter.
May 23, 2026
60
Screen Daily
Lea Mysius’s third feature is a taut exploration of family, identity and betrayal, with a claustrophobic atmosphere and strong performances from Hafsia Herzi and Monica Bellucci. But conventional plotting and a relentlessly sombre tone mean that The Birthday Party never truly comes alive.
May 23, 2026
60
The Guardian
The tension is capably managed and Magimel is a gargoyle of menace.
May 23, 2026
40
Variety
The overlap of the two households, which offers an exciting narrative possibility, peters out with predictable cynicisms, while the climax is borderline comedic in its forced symbolism about family bonds.
May 23, 2026
40
Next Best Picture
For all The Birthday Party’s faults, the benefits of her assured direction, a confident and watchable cast, and further dissection of the film’s signature themes of generational trauma are obfuscated by unignorable flaws.
See All 8 Critic Reviews
User score
User reviews are not available yet
tbd
0% Positive
0 Ratings
0% Mixed
0 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings

User reviews are not available for this movie yet.

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  • MK2 Films
  • MK2
1 h 54 m
Cannes Film Festival
• 1 Win & 2 Nominations
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