The Five Obstructions

WED May 12 4:30 pm Konvikt / film hall / free admission

THE FIVE OBSTRUCTIONS
De fem benspaend
Denmark, Switzerland, Belgium, France 2003

director Lars von Trier, Jørgen Leth
screenplay Lars von Trier, Jørgen Leth
director of photography Dan Holmberg
editor Camilla Skousen, Morten Højbjerg
music Mikkel Malta, Anders Valbro
cast Jørgen Leth, Lars von Trier, Claus Nissen, Majken Algren Nielsen, Jacqueline Arenal, Daniel Hernández Rodriguez


Together with Danish documentary film veteran Jørgen Leth, Lars von Trier enters the world of documentary filmmaking and takes on the task of challenging conventional ways of documentary and film production. In 1967 Jørgen Leth made a short film called The Perfect Human (Det Perfekte menneske), a document on human behaviour. In the year 2000, Trier challenged Leth to make five remakes of this film. Trier put forward obstructions, constraining Leth to rethink the story and the characters of the original film. Playing the naive anthropologist, Leth attempts to embrace the cunning challenges set forth by the devious and sneaky Trier and must deal with the limitations, commands and prohibitions. It is a game full of traps and vicious turns. The Five Obstructions is an investigative journey into the phenomenon of filmmaking.


Trier's play including Leth stems not only from the reversed roles of master and student, but may also be seen as a duel with no winner. Leth manages to adapt himself to the strict rules of this game with a high degree of elegance. The more Trier's obstructions negate his own style, the happier he seems to get. It is in limitations that he discovers real artistic freedom. He resourcefully tosses around the laid down constrictions, catching us by surprise every so often, evading roles he has been dragooned into by Trier. He breaks the rules without violating them.


Von Trier admired it so much he saw it 20 times in a single year. Now he summons the 67-year-old Leth from retirement in Haiti and commands him to remake the film in five different ways, despite obstructions which von Trier will supply.