The Five Obstructions (2003) Danish film by Lars Von Trier and Jøgen
Leth
Why did Lars Von Trier ask Jøgen Leth to make the
five movies with obstacles? Why did Jøgen Leth hesitate every time when he
heard the instruction from Lars?
In the
Fifth films, Lars said “to help Jøgen to be perfect....” In his monologue, I
could understand the reason why Lars asked Jøgen to make movies with
obstructions. To be a perfect human, he has to overcome his situation whether good
or bad.
It was really uncomfortable when I was watching
the movie, because, I really understood the situation. When people get older,
they get used what they have done through their life. The people could get
perfect professional achievement like Jøgen Leth in a certain area, yet they
don’t want to try new things after they gain reputation, because they afraid to lose their
fame. If I were him, Jøgen, could I do that? Could I try to overcome my
achievement to be a better person? Celebrities could sense more obstacles than
commoners when they apply something in a new area because they are famous as professionals.
This movie was an experimental movie which
consists of 5 documentaries. It starts with that Lars suggesting to Jøgen to
remake his movie, ‘The Perfect Human’. Lars gave him very difficult obstructions
in the movie.
The
obstacle in first documentary is that Las should remake the film in Cuba without
setting and using only 12 frames. The first documentary looked like a music
video to me. It was visually pleasant. Second obstruction in the film is making
in the most miserable place in the world, and Jøgen should play ‘The Perfect Human’ by
himself with eating scene. Yet, his mission was failed because the local people
shouldn’t be in the scene. The third obstruction in the film is making the
movie without a rule in Brussels as the punishment from the second film…which
was the real challenge. The fourth obstruction was making ‘The Perfect Human’
as a cartoon. Jøgen said that he couldn’t..but the outcome was really good. It was
really sensational. The final obstruction is that Jøgen should voice over
narration as Lars directed.
Every time, for Jøgen, making movies with the
obstruction was the real challenge. In his situation, his fame and his
profession that can’t be ignored by the people’s appraisal, I could understand
Jøgen’s pressure to overcome the obstructions. I was really pleased when I saw
that Lars admitted to Jøgen’s achievement.
