You may think that you don’t want to be reminded of your worst Christmas or other family nightmares. But when watching The Guest, Danish director Mads Mengel’s debut feature film, you won’t be able to look away. Trust me! It’s a bit like stopping to catch a glimpse of the site of a traffic accident, just much more intriguing! And you will likely find yourself switching allegiance and changing your views on most of its characters more than once or twice.The ensemble that brings to life The Guest (Gæsten), which world premieres on Sunday, July 5 in the main competition program of the 60th edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF), reads like a who’s who of Danish acting. Trine Dyrholm (The Girl With the Needle, Poison) is Vibeke, the “guest” mentioned in the movie’s title. There’s just one problem: the estranged mother is not really invited to the baptism of the baby of her son Karl, portrayed by Simon Bennebjerg (The Pact, Promised Land) and his partner Emilie (Mette Klakstein). The celebration, taking place in a seaside resort where they plan to unveil their child’s name to the family, is supposed to be fun after all. And Karl, unlike his sister Rikke, played by Josephine Park (The Nurse, Oxen), hasn’t had contact with Vibeke for years. Mengel wrote the script for the cinematic exploration of family, love, forgiveness and mental health with his friend and creative partner Christian Bengtson. “For me, the general theme is about forgiveness and family and looking at your past in a different light,” Mengel tells THR. He approaches forgiveness not as duty but as “transformation.”