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The Birthday Party

Play trailer Poster for The Birthday Party 2026 1h 54m Drama Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
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57% Tomatometer 14 Reviews Popcornmeter 0 Ratings
Thomas, Nora and their teenage daughter Ida live on remote marshland. Social contact is limited, as they only have one neighbor, 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.

Critics Reviews

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Justin Chang The New Yorker 3d
I don’t know if the French director Léa Mysius’s home-invasion thriller is the worst film in this year’s [Cannes Film Festival] competition, but for its nearly two-hour duration, it struck me as by far the biggest waste of time. Go to Full Review Zachary Lee TheWrap 5d
Its craft elevates ingredients that will likely be familiar to those of the genre. Go to Full Review Jenna Mahale Little White Lies 6d
The Birthday Party is enjoyable enough – timely, gory, gripping and just a little over-the-top. Go to Full Review Àngel Quintana Caimán Cuadernos de Cine 5d
The characters cease to develop slowly, becoming functional cogs in a dramatic machine. The film seems to dismantle precisely what made the source material unique, without finding an engaging cinematic form. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review Nicholas Bell IONCINEMA.com 6d
3/5
The Birthday Party is perhaps familiar to a fault, playing with hoary genre conventions effectively. Still, Mysius knows how to write compelling characters Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Cast & Crew

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Léa Mysius

Director

Hafsia Herzi

Actor

Benoît Magimel

Actor

Bastien Bouillon

Actor

Monica Bellucci

Actor

Tawba El Gharchi

Actor
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The Birthday Party

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Movie Info

Synopsis Thomas, Nora and their teenage daughter Ida live on remote marshland. Social contact is limited, as they only have one neighbor, 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.
Director
Léa Mysius
Producer
Jean-Louis Livi, Marie-Ange Luciani
Screenwriter
Léa Mysius
Production Co
F Comme Film
Genre
Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
French
Runtime
1h 54m