The Idiots/Idioterne (1998) - Von Trier challenges normalcy and human behavior in his Dogme masterpiece

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+ Best Movie of the Year

+ Best Danish Movie of the Year + Best Experimental Movie of the Year + Most Undeserved Flop Movie of the Year

 

A cast assembly framed upside down, and the promise of a nude Jens Albinus in the lower right corner, makes up this French poster for Lars Von Trier's The Idiots

 

The woman Karen is sitting in a restaurant, where a noisy group of disabled people are also dining. But she finds out that they are actually only 'normal' people from a collective, who just cultivate a private 'sport' of 'spazzing out'.

 

The Idiots is written and directed by Danish master filmmaker, Lars Von Trier (Images of Liberation/Befrielsesbilleder (1982)). It is his 6th feature, and the 2nd film made according to the strict rule set of the Dogme 95 movement, co-founded by Von Trier. It is also the 2nd in Von Trier's Golden Heart trilogy, which also contains masterpiece Breaking the Waves (1996) and Dancer in the Dark (2000).

It is Von Trier's only Dogme film, - an ascetic vow to shoot without major effects and interference, budget or accreditation, among other things, - and it is a fittingly extreme film filled with embarrassing scenes, where both people in the scenes and certainly us watching as audiences are made uncomfortable. The cast of young actors, which contains many of the biggest names in Danish film in the subsequent decades, jump courageously into Von Trier's bizarre pool of ideas with both feet.

Watching The Idiots is a funny and wild experience; it is probably the most pure of the Dogme films, and extremely original. It is a deeply unusual film, which ranks among the best Danish films ever made. At its core The Idiots is an existentially provocative masterpiece.

 

Related posts: 

Lars Von Trier: The House That Jack Built (2018) - Something's amiss in Von Trier's depraved, unpleasant serial killer pic  

Nymphomaniac (2013) short version, vol. 1 & vol. 2, or, Lars Von Trier's Suck It  
Melancholia (2011) - Von Trier's heightened reality doomsday reflections 
Antichrist (2009) - Von Trier's cabin-in-the-woods psycho-horror 
The Early Years: Erik Nietzsche Part 1/De Unge År: Erik Nietzsche Sagaen Del 1 (2007) - Thuesen and Von Trier's hilarious film school comedy (autobiographical screenplay) 

Top 10: Best Danish movies reviewed by Film Excess to date 
2006 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess
Top 10: Best comedies reviewed by Film Excess to date
The Boss of It All/Direktøren for det Hele (2006) - Von Trier's hilarious absurd comedy 
Dear Wendy (2005) - Vinterberg and Von Trier's unpopular, gun-themed megaflop (writer)

2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 
Top 10: The best big flop movies reviewed by Film Excess to date 
Dogville (2003) - Von Trier's implacable, truly unique drama  
The Five Obstructions/De Fem Benspænd (2003, documentary) or, Lars von Trier vs. Jørgen Leth
Dancer in the Dark (2000) or, Selma the Immigrant  

1998 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 

Top 10: Best drama-thrillers reviewed by Film Excess to date   
Zentropa/Europa (1991) - Von Trier's audacious ode to the heavy continent is a fever dream on celluloid
Epidemic (1987) - Von Trier's trippy, bizarre second film  
The Element of Crime/Forbrydelsens Element (1984) - Von Trier's ultra-strange debut 

 

 

Watch a 5 -minute excerpt from the film here

 

Cost: 2.5 mil. $

Box office: Around 4.68 mil. $

= Big flop (returned around 1.87 times its cost)

[The Idiots premiered 20 May (Cannes Film Festival, in competition) and runs 114 minutes. The script was reportedly written in 4 days, in connection with the creation of the Dogme 95 manifesto. No less than 13 companies were involved with the financing and production of the film. Shooting took place in Denmark around June 1997. It is one of the first films shot entirely on digital cameras. Details about its limited North-American release are not made available online but was likely very small. In the film's main production country Denmark it sold 119,892 tickets, which comes to roughly 8.2 mil. DKK, or approximately 1.31 mil. $. A Danish blog by the head of the cinemas of Denmark informs that the film sold 719k admissions outside of Denmark, and with an average prize of 4.69 $ at the time, that comes to 3.37 mil. $, a total gross of around 4.68 mil. $. The film lost the Palme d'Or to Eternity and a Day. It won a Robert award (Denmark's Oscar), and was nominated for a European Film award. Von Trier returned with 3 TV movie and video short credits priot to his theatrical return with Dancer in the Dark (2000). Bodil Jørgensen (Ronal the Barbarian/Ronal Barbaren (2011)) returned in 4 TV credits prior to her theatrical return in Klinkevals (1999)). The Idiots is fresh at 71 % with a 6.50/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of The Idiots? 

At Kende Sandheden (2002) - Malmros' fascinating, well-acted look at his surgeon father

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+ Best B/W Movie of the Year + Best Mega-flop Movie of the Year

Star Jens Albinus concentrated in the middle of surgery on this visually sparse poster for Nils Malmros' At Kende Sandheden

Late in his life the esteemed neurologist Richard Malmros is haunted by a period in the 1940s in which he and other doctors did home operations using a radioactive property, which later turned out to cause cancer.

At Kende Sandheden is written and directed by Nils Malmros (En Mærkelig Kærlighed (1968)), co-written with John Mogensen (Barbara (1997)). It is based on the life of Malmros' own father. The Danish title translates to, 'to know the truth'.
The film is a father portrait, which impresses with strikingly detailed and realistic brain surgery scenes, - stemming from the fact that Nils Malmros is also educated as a surgeon and performed all the surgery scenes with his own hands, - and four outstanding actors' performances, each of them perfectly cast:
Lasse Broust Andersen is phenomenal as young Richard Malmros; Jens Albinus (Stille Hjerte (2014)) as the adult Richard Malmros; William Rosenberg (Fætrene på Torndal (1973)) is tremendous as the old Richard Malmros; and Søren Østergaard (Operation Cobra (1995)) as the son filmmaker, whom he actually also resembles quite a bit.
For some time it is feared that the film will collapse in search of a focus between bio-drama, the journalistic uncovering plot line and the father-son drama, but At Kende Sandheden keeps it together with its compelling core about the unpleasant choices, consequences and guilt that life brings about, exemplified by the fascinating doctor character. Richard Malmros as a character reflects the double-sided element of the doctor's profession, often teetering between courageous heroism and fatal monstrosity.
At Kende Sandheden is told in a brisk pace; it is a good film, although there seems to be some depths to the story that it never uncovers.

Related post:

Nils Malmros: Sorrow and Joy/Sorg og Glæde (2013) - Malmros' film of his life's major tragedy

2002 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]  

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: Unknown
Box office: Unknown
= Uncertain - but probably a mega-flop
[At Kende Sandheden premiered 23 August (Norwegian International Film Festival) and runs 98 minutes. Shooting took place in Denmark, including Copenhagen. The film sold 89,506 tickets in production country Denmark, which makes for a gross around 6-7 mil. DKK. The film likely cost at least 20 mil. DKK and so should be considered a mega-flop. It was screened at 9 international festivals. It won 3/ 6 Robert nominations (Danish Oscar). Malmros returned with Aching Hearts/Kærestesorger (2009). Albinus returned in 3 TV and video credits prior to his theatrical return in In Your Hands/Forbrydelser (2004); Rosenberg in Opbrud (2005). 725 IMDb users have given At Kende Sandheden a 7.3/10 average rating.]

What do you think of At Kende Sandheden?

Long Story Short/Lang Historie Kort (2015) - Charming actors elevate generational, party-centered romcom

♥♥♥♥

+ Best Box Office Disaster of the Year

In bright feminine colors, the cast and a huge dog stand out on this poster for May el-Toukhy's Long Story Short

We follow a group of close, middle-aged friends through 8 parties over the course of 3 years; their relationships' ups and downs.

Long Story Short is written by Maren Louise Käehne (Shelley (2016)) and co-writer/director May el-Toukhy (White Man's Burden (2003)). It is a romcom made with a sure stylistic touch and a good soundtrack. It works as a tender exposé of the filmmakers' own generation, which is superficial, immature and annoying. What discouraged me most about this was that it made me think that my own generation may be even worse.
The focus on the parties banalizes the issues to some degree, because it implicitly indicates that of the most paramount important in life is socializing with friends, - who don't speak about the pressing problems, (they are solved with divorces and therapy), and where children are treated largely as negative, disturbing elements.
The film still works, because it is made with enthusiasm and energy and a group of lovely actors, who bring Long Story Short to life: Mille Lehfeldt (Talenttyven (2012)), Peter Gantzler (On Thin Ice/Kampen (2013)) and Trine Dyrholm (Nico, 1988 (2017)) are all delightful, in spite of my personal ruminations. 
Long Story Short is a crowdpleaser of the kind which could only come from a woman. But it is a lightweight work.

Related posts:

2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]

2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]

Watch a piece of one of the party sections from the film - the surprise party - in this 2-minute video

Cost: Unknown
Box office: 248k $ (Denmark only)
= Uncertain (but likely a box office disaster)
[Long Story Short was released 7 May (Denmark) and runs 100 minutes. Outside of its production country Denmark, the film was shown at festivals in 3 other countries and released in Hungary, but grosses are not made public. If the film was made on a very modest 1 mil. $ budget, it would count as a box office disaster. It won 1/6 Robert nominations (Denmark's Oscar) and 2/4 Bodil awards (Danish film critics' awards). El-Toukhy returned with The Legacy/Arven (2017, TV-series), Ride Upon the Storm/Herrens Veje (2017, TV-series) and theatrically with Queen of Hearts/Dronningen (2019). Lehfeldt has not returned with any credits since. Jens Albinus (Far from China (2001)) returned in 3 TV projects and a short before he was back on the big screen in A Fortunate Man/Lykke-Per (2018). 426 IMDb users have given Long Story Short a 6.6/10 average rating.]

What do you think of Long Story Short?

The Boss of It All/Direktøren for Det Hele (2006) - Von Trier's hilarious absurd comedy

♥♥♥♥♥

+ Best Comedy of the Year + Best Experimental Movie of the Year + Most Under-appreciated Movie of the Year

The US poster for Lars Von Trier's The Boss of It All

QUICK REVIEW:

Mr. Ravn is the boss of an obscure IT company, but for ten years he has pretended that the company had another boss above him. Now he wants to sell the company, so he hires an actor to do his dirty work.

Danish master writer-director Lars Von Trier's (Breaking the Waves (1996)) comical talent is here on its freest display; Boss presents intelligent plays with clichés, perceptions and prejudices, shot in a curious mechanized system named Automavision, which lets a computer randomly select where the camera should be placed.
The very Danish urge for unification and being in agreement socially is dramatized poignantly throughout the film with coldblooded, sharp-toothed glee.
Jens Albinus (The Idiots/Idioterne (1998)) and Peter Gantzler (Italian for Beginners/Italiensk for Begyndere (2000)) and the scenes with the Icelanders are hilarious.
Von Trier's clever, great sense of humor makes one wish he would return to comedy, but his next project is still announced to be the serial killer series, The House That Jack Built, tentatively set for a 2016 release.

Related posts:

Lars Von Trier:  Nymphomaniac (2013) short version, vol. 1 & vol. 2, or, Lars Von Trier's Suck It
Melancholia (2011) - Von Trier's heightened reality doomsday reflections 
Antichrist (2009) - Von Trier's cabin-in-the-woods psycho-horror 

2006 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]

2006 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II] 

2006 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

Dear Wendy (2005) - Vinterberg and Von Trier's unpopular, gun-themed megaflop (writer)  
Dancer in the Dark (2000) or, Selma the Immigrant 

Peter Gantzler and Jens Albinus in Lars Von Trier's The Boss of It All

Cost: 4 mil. $
Box office: 3.1 mil. $
= Huge flop
[Boss was released in Denmark in December to poor reviews and 18k+ admissions, making it 1.1 mil. DKR. It made 51k $ in North America. Its 3 biggest markets were Italy (1.2 mil. $/38.7 % of the total gross), Spain (0.6 mil. $/19.4 %) and Sweden (0.2 mil. $/6.5 %). The rights to a remake have been in development at Universal Pictures since 2011. The Boss of It All is certified fresh at 75  % with a 6.6 critical average on Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Boss of It All?