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Information

A.k.a.
The Five Obstructions
Year
2003
Runtime
90 min.
Directors
Lars von Trier, Jørgen Leth
Genre
Documentary
Rating *
7.5
Votes *
6,241
Checks
1,659
Favs
164
Dislikes
14
Favs/checks
9.9% (1:10)
Favs/dislikes
12:1
* View IMDb information

Top comments

  1. bathkuyp's avatar

    bathkuyp

    Be sure to watch the short movie on wich this film floats: https://www.icheckmovies.com/movies/det+perfekte+menneske/. 9 years 5 months ago
  2. phoebejaspe's avatar

    phoebejaspe

    One of the best docu-experimental film I've watched in a long time. 10 years 6 months ago
  3. Siskoid's avatar

    Siskoid

    Jørgen Leth's classic 1968 short film, The Perfect Human, has two people in a white liminal space doing mundane things as the narrator asks questions as if an alien seeing humans for the first time. The deconstructed human reconstructed as actions, objects and language are slowly added to the mix. After all these years, it still retains its absurdist mystique. Enter Lars von Tier, a more recent Danish director of renown, and a big fan of The Perfect Human. In The Five Obstructions, he connives to make his mentor, Leth, remake the film with various "obstructions", challenges that he hopes, it seems, will shake Leth out of a rut. Whether tough love, a prank, or just the kind of hell he puts his characters through in his own films, it hardly matters. My favorite is undoubtedly the juddery 12-frames-per-shot version, but there's something to like in each without any of them exceeding the purity of the original (naturally). What we have here is a look into the creative mind and how the artist not only overcomes challenges, but uses obstacles as inspiration to make the work more interesting. I absolutely believe that "rules" and "limits" provoke art better than the limitless blank page. Leth nevertheless vaults even over the latter. Of course the film also has something to say about von Trier, but he largely says it himself, so how far can we trust the fiction slipped into the documentary? Either way, the use of The Perfect Human's own language to say something about von Trier, Leth, artists of all stripes, humanity is actually quite poignant, and we end on a note that resonates strongly with me. 4 months 1 week ago
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In 6 official lists

  1. This movie ranks #87 in Sight & Sound's The Greatest Documentaries of All Time
    Sight & Sound's The Greatest Documentaries of All Time's icon

    Sight & Sound's The Grea…

    87
  2. This movie ranks #335 in Harvard's Suggested Film Viewing: Narrative Films
    Harvard's Suggested Film Viewing: Narrative Films's icon

    Harvard's Suggested Film…

    335
  3. This movie ranks #342 in Time Out's 1000 Films to Change Your Life
    Time Out's 1000 Films to Change Your Life's icon

    Time Out's 1000 Films to…

    342
  4. This movie ranks #364 in TSPDT's 21st Century's Most Acclaimed Films
    TSPDT's 21st Century's Most Acclaimed Films's icon

    TSPDT's 21st Century's M…

    364
  5. This movie ranks #501 in Mark Cousins's The Story of Film: An Odyssey
    Mark Cousins's The Story of Film: An Odyssey's icon

    Mark Cousins's The Story…

    501
  6. This movie ranks #958 in TSPDT's 1,000 Greatest Films: 1001-2500
    TSPDT's 1,000 Greatest Films: 1001-2500's icon

    TSPDT's 1,000 Greatest F…

    958
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