Wildly inventive documentary experiments with alternate short film types as modern Danish mastermind Lars von Trier orders his friend and collaborator Jørgen Leth to reinterpret his classic short film "The Perfect Human" with five new orders to follow.
The cinematic results yield five very interesting mini movies which are displayed throughout the behind-the-scenes footage of these two director's strategizing how to accomplish any given task.
While fascinating purely from a technical love for cinema, The Five Obstructions ultimately feels like a pretentious and partially vacant exercise, exemplified best when von Trier's demanding arrogance leads to the underwhelming and pseudo-profound conclusion.
The cinematic results yield five very interesting mini movies which are displayed throughout the behind-the-scenes footage of these two director's strategizing how to accomplish any given task.
While fascinating purely from a technical love for cinema, The Five Obstructions ultimately feels like a pretentious and partially vacant exercise, exemplified best when von Trier's demanding arrogance leads to the underwhelming and pseudo-profound conclusion.