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The Five Obstructions
De Fem Benspænd
review by Carrie
Gorringe, 19 September 2003
Toronto International Film Festival
2003
As
if the machinations in Dogville
were insufficiently stimulating for Lars von Trier, he indulges
himself in some more game-playing with his friend, fellow director Jørgen
Leth, in a little scenario called The
Five Obstructions. Leth is to make five
"obstructions", or short films, based upon an obscure 1967
film, The Perfect Human.
Each of Leth’s films will be created according to a set of rules
laid down by von Trier. Constant among the rules, however, are the
requirements that Leth use no sets, (a good Dogme 95 precondition) and that no single edit can be longer
than twelve frames. Between 2001 and 2003, von Trier sends Leth
globe-hopping from Cuba to Austin, Texas, to Bombay’s red-light
district, among other places, to create his mini-masterpieces.
After
his first successful effort, Leth boasts, "Twelve frames are a
paper tiger!" Obviously disconcerted despite his outward
nonchalance, von Trier replies, "Next time we’ll have to add
a few more [rules]." And Leth’s personal obstructions grow.
His ethics and talents are tested to the limit (in one of the films,
he is obligated to dine upon a sumptuous buffet in front of poor
people), but he comes through mostly unscathed; he is able to win
over von Trier even when working in von Trier’s least favorite
medium: animation. Von Trier is amazed by the effortlessness of
Leth’s work -- "Not a mark has been left on you by the films
you’ve made" -- so von Trier decides to direct the final
episode himself, giving Leth full credit for the production, but
allowing him only the role of narrator. Leth’s narration, written
by von Trier, talks about a filmmaker who "tries to fool the
world because he doesn’t want to be a part of it…emotions are
too dangerous." Then comes the revelation: von Trier exposes
himself as "dishonest", because he only sees what he wants
to see. It is a case of the attacker, which von Trier has been
throughout the film, exposing himself as the ultimate obstruction.
The
Five Obstructions
is a fascinating exercise in watching art emerge from not only
technical constraints, but also from morality and friendship,
especially the latter two elements. Although von Trier puts his
friend through the wringer (promising, at one point, to
"ruin" him), he also has few illusions about himself. But
what do morality and friendship mean to von Trier? His films possess
shades of morality running from jet black to grey in the best of
circumstances, as one would expect of an individual whose viewpoint
of the world is somewhat jaundiced. It’s also the
self-righteousness of the ideologue (and von Trier, with his
espousing of extreme naturalism in his adherence to the rules of Dogme
95, is an ideologue), who knows that he has a better answer
than anyone else. But, in using disadvantaged individuals in the
name of a so-called "sophistic exercise", is von Trier
(with Leth as his handmaiden in crime, so to speak), undercutting
his own superior morality, or is a self-lampooning his real
intention? And what about his relationship with Leth? At what point
does testing someone’s limits go too far? These are the real
questions raised by the film, and, difficult though they are to
answer with absolute certainty, there is no doubt that they, and not
necessarily the films themselves, constitute the real
"art" on display.
Toronto International Film Festival Coverage:
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