| THE IDIOTS Director: Lars von Trier "In the weeks preceding shooting we worked a great deal on the spassing, and the cast became very fond of spassing. But gradually they simply got bored if they didn't have to spass. And as an outsider, as time goes by you become quite unaffected by spassing, whereas at first it was pretty distracting to have someone drooling down your trousers." Lars von Trier Languishing on the October/USA Films shelves for two years, all but forgotten by the press and a hot ticket on the bootleg video circuit Lars von Trier's The Idiots finally gets its U.S release. Most likely though it isn't getting released because of a good-hearted marketing gift, but because von Trier just won the Cannes Film Festival with his latest film Dancer in The Dark and USA Films figured they could make a quick buck or two. The film -- made in 1996 -- is the second film of the now famous "Dogma 95" series, which favors rules such as 'the camera must be hand held, with the use of natural lighting, the story must be in the here and now…' and other such regulations that ironicically can make the films look no better than home movies. The Idiots definitely starts like a home movie, albeit a whacked-out one. A group of young middle-class Danes, who live together in the country, take a theatre troupe mentality into the streets of the nearby town to play act the parts of idiots, "spazing out" and scaring the public in restaurants, parks and places of work. But as the film goes on their act becomes more "real" as they begin to method act their parts. Eventually their act becomes a liability as they turn retarded on a regular basis including in each other's company when no one else is around. The idea, according to their leader Stoffer (Jens Albinus), is for them to act retarded as a way of getting in touch with their inner idiot. This is the only way, he believes, to come to grasp with the absurdities of bourgeois society, capitalism, obligations and disingenuous friendships. For only then, he claims, can you find true happiness. But then the question becomes; "how far are you willing to go to achieve this?" The kind of idiocy has its place but nobody is willing to take into their normal personal lives. Each of the characters are somehow collectively able to connect with one another on a deeper level but as they proceed with their act various personal dilemmas rise to the surface. One of the characters in particular is an emotionally fragile woman named Karen (Bodil Jorgensen) who joins them because she finds their actions and their company therapeutic. As the film goes on she moves from a peripheral character to the main one. At first the film feels somewhat like an inside joke with its use of improvisation, crude humor and amateurish directing quality. But as it goes along, it takes on a rougher edge and becomes pretty serious until its undeniably powerful ending, which puts the whole context of the film in a place that -- if you can believe it -- is both depressing and heartening at the same time. The Idiots, which was written in four days, is hardly top-drawer von Trier, but it tackles many of his themes -- most especially - "what is sanity?" And, the bigger one; "might there be virtue in the martyrdom of those who are pure, innocent and mentally infirm?" Themes he has explored in his better films Breaking The Waves and his television series The Kingdom. The film is recommended to those who like a challenge when they go to the movies. And more importantly -- from a prankster's point of view -- even though it's rough in spots and annoying in others there is something admirable about a film that has the potential to offend both uptight conservatives and politically correct liberals. The controversy surrounding The Idiots is brought on almost entirely by USA Films and the MPAA who insist on placing black bars to block the full frontal male nudity as well as one explicit sex scene during an idiot orgy that is more funny than offensive. So, unless you find the bootleg edition on Ebay or in some video store, this is the version you'll have to see. - Matt Langdon |