I'm just getting to sit down and collect my thoughts regarding The Five Obstructions, loosely the product of director Jørgen Leth and Danish genius Lars von Trier (director of Breaking the Waves, The Dancer in the Dark and Dogville).
The film is a partial documentary/challenged based upon the depressed director Jørgen Leth and his film Det Perfekte menneske (1967, a/k/a The Perfect Human). For reasons not explained, von Trier goads his friend Leth into participating in some cinematic "therapy" as von Trier calls it. These therapies involve Leth directing and reimagining his own film The Perfect Human, always with some von Trier rules attached to the remakes.
The rules include:
1. Making a film where each cut can last no longer than 12 FRAMES.
2. Testing the ethical boundries of filmmaking by filming one of the scenes, Leth as the actor, in a horrible, nightmare of a surrounding.
3. Making a film no rules at all, completely free and free flowing.
4. Making a cartoon.
5. Narrating the coda of "The Five Obstructions" itself.
To von Trier's disapproval, Leth goes from task to task trying to make the best film out of every rule, pushing all the boundries he can to produce something he likes (even though von Trier says he wants him to make "crap").
While Leth himself, the subject of the documentary parts of this, comes across as a decent, caring human being, it's the mastermind behind all this, von Trier who appears most like an ego driven maniac. In the coda, von Trier tries to depreciate himself and his involvment but one walks away from the film looking like a complete ass.
In a way, he seemingly wants his friend Leth to walk away from his self-imposed Haitian exile and stop being so damned depressed, but von Trier instead comes across as self obsessed savior-figure who seems like he has a deep desire to "save" Leth from himself. Von Trier knows this of course, he calls himself out in his own coda, exposing that, for the most part this movie is some sort of weird apology to his audience for being such a freak.
I've never quite seen a film like this, so it was worth it, and some of the segmants are interesting. Leth himself is an interesting fellow and has a lot to say in his own quiet way. One can only wonder why he decided to take place in this film.
The Five Obstructions is the official Danish Oscar entry this year.
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