Lars Von Trier's The Idiots paints an ambitious and grotesque idea and goes all the way with it. It is a film that is as much about the audience as it is about itself, which is a rare thing in motion pictures today. The only question left is whether or not it is worth your time to watch it or not. In my opinion if you want to see a film all about horrible people doing repulsive things in order to express themselves in a distanced and disabled state then you might get something out of this film. I felt that Lars Von Trier's attempts to tackle this type of subject matter are no doubt valiant and I definitely feel that it is something that few filmmakers seem to go out of their way to avoid doing. My problem is in his choice of presenting this idea. The film follows a group of middle aged folks who decide to lose their sense of dignity and become uninhibited in virtually all of their activities.
I already have a problem with the film simply starting with the premise. The premise is based on the ideas surrounding self-expression of choice versus the exaggerated statement of attempted self-fulfillment. What bothers me is that these people don't do this simply out of convenience, rage, or insanity. Each and every one of these people do this by choice. Perhaps this was done on purpose in order to be offensive, which would be okay if the film justified itself through it's imagery and it's characters. Unfortunately, the film avoids doing that by not allowing the audience to accept the fact that these characters do not understand moral fiber and thus he betrays the own idea by not displaying his stance. In a different film I can see Lars Von Trier doing this, but what gets in the way here is the unreasonably strict Danish film law called "Dogme #95" that forces the director to purposefully betray even the most subtle form of conventional film making in order to purify the idea behind the film and the film's ability or inability to be absorbent based on it's view-ability. A good film can be made from this technique, but not a film like this with this sense of ambition and possible transgression. I think in order for a film of this caliber to work you need a sense of vision, which is what The Idiots lacks the most. It has no feeling of personality, entertainment value, scope, or creativity. The characters in it are creative in their interests behind what they are doing, but there isn't any sort of hope for any of them. They are all disgusting horrible people and you feel far too distanced from them to be able to get involved in their activities. Again, perhaps this was done intentionally, and again, it is not justified.
I think what bothers me the most about The Idiots is belittling it is to it's audience. For how weak the film is, there is some genuine emotion on display here that is undeniable. The film does try to confront a lot of these emotions in a very original way, and I really like that. However, the film also demoralizes the potential rawness of these scenes by avoiding letting in any fluidity. The film suffers from too much plot, ironically, in it's pacing and it becomes uneven and not really fulfilling as a whole when it does in small fragments. The film does not feel disjointed and it has a head on it's shoulders, and ironically that's what gets in the way the most. The film gave me a headache. It could have easily been about a bunch of people running around acting and and engaging in freakish behavior and it could have had a lot more life to it had it been that way, but instead it strives for too much and as a result delivers little. For a film that contains extended sequences of unsimulated sex, that is saying A LOT.
I can easily see many viewers getting more than I did out of the film, and I can understand that. I think my issues have a lot to do with director Lars Von Trier's presentation. Lars Von Trier is among one of the most challenging and twisted filmmakers today. His films require ambition and emotion behind the camera as well as in front of it. A lot of great films require this. However, because of the limiting factors behind the film's technique, Lars Von Trier's attempt is cut short by the film's monumental inward destruction toward convention rather than invention. The Idiots is perhaps one of the worst examples of limitation behind the camera interfering with the potential life in front of the camera. The film has the making of an independent masterpiece. The film's dialogue is improvised, the film evokes a lot of anger in it's imagery, and the final five minutes are quietly affecting. Despite what I have been saying, I do not fault Lars Von Trier for the result. Ultimately, I fault the idea of the film itself. Imagine, for a second, if this film wasn't filmed in Dogme #95. I don't think that anybody would have liked it. I think that Lars Von Trier's public film-making career would have been over. The end result, ironically, could have been far more offensive and troubling than it already is. At least with this style the film gives fans of low-budget cinema something to digest. It may not work, but at least it's very existence shows that Lars Von Trier is the real deal. I'm thankful for that.
(For an extended version of this comment, as well as other comments like this, visit www.cuddercityfilmchronicles.blogspot.com).
I already have a problem with the film simply starting with the premise. The premise is based on the ideas surrounding self-expression of choice versus the exaggerated statement of attempted self-fulfillment. What bothers me is that these people don't do this simply out of convenience, rage, or insanity. Each and every one of these people do this by choice. Perhaps this was done on purpose in order to be offensive, which would be okay if the film justified itself through it's imagery and it's characters. Unfortunately, the film avoids doing that by not allowing the audience to accept the fact that these characters do not understand moral fiber and thus he betrays the own idea by not displaying his stance. In a different film I can see Lars Von Trier doing this, but what gets in the way here is the unreasonably strict Danish film law called "Dogme #95" that forces the director to purposefully betray even the most subtle form of conventional film making in order to purify the idea behind the film and the film's ability or inability to be absorbent based on it's view-ability. A good film can be made from this technique, but not a film like this with this sense of ambition and possible transgression. I think in order for a film of this caliber to work you need a sense of vision, which is what The Idiots lacks the most. It has no feeling of personality, entertainment value, scope, or creativity. The characters in it are creative in their interests behind what they are doing, but there isn't any sort of hope for any of them. They are all disgusting horrible people and you feel far too distanced from them to be able to get involved in their activities. Again, perhaps this was done intentionally, and again, it is not justified.
I think what bothers me the most about The Idiots is belittling it is to it's audience. For how weak the film is, there is some genuine emotion on display here that is undeniable. The film does try to confront a lot of these emotions in a very original way, and I really like that. However, the film also demoralizes the potential rawness of these scenes by avoiding letting in any fluidity. The film suffers from too much plot, ironically, in it's pacing and it becomes uneven and not really fulfilling as a whole when it does in small fragments. The film does not feel disjointed and it has a head on it's shoulders, and ironically that's what gets in the way the most. The film gave me a headache. It could have easily been about a bunch of people running around acting and and engaging in freakish behavior and it could have had a lot more life to it had it been that way, but instead it strives for too much and as a result delivers little. For a film that contains extended sequences of unsimulated sex, that is saying A LOT.
I can easily see many viewers getting more than I did out of the film, and I can understand that. I think my issues have a lot to do with director Lars Von Trier's presentation. Lars Von Trier is among one of the most challenging and twisted filmmakers today. His films require ambition and emotion behind the camera as well as in front of it. A lot of great films require this. However, because of the limiting factors behind the film's technique, Lars Von Trier's attempt is cut short by the film's monumental inward destruction toward convention rather than invention. The Idiots is perhaps one of the worst examples of limitation behind the camera interfering with the potential life in front of the camera. The film has the making of an independent masterpiece. The film's dialogue is improvised, the film evokes a lot of anger in it's imagery, and the final five minutes are quietly affecting. Despite what I have been saying, I do not fault Lars Von Trier for the result. Ultimately, I fault the idea of the film itself. Imagine, for a second, if this film wasn't filmed in Dogme #95. I don't think that anybody would have liked it. I think that Lars Von Trier's public film-making career would have been over. The end result, ironically, could have been far more offensive and troubling than it already is. At least with this style the film gives fans of low-budget cinema something to digest. It may not work, but at least it's very existence shows that Lars Von Trier is the real deal. I'm thankful for that.
(For an extended version of this comment, as well as other comments like this, visit www.cuddercityfilmchronicles.blogspot.com).