Movie #93 The Five Obstructions *2003*

The Five Obstructions is a Lars von Trier film.  So right off the bat you know you are getting into something that you have probably never seen before.  Such was the case for me and this film.  I guess you would call it a documentary.  In this picture von Trier invites a director he admires Jorgen Leth, to remake one of his films called The Perfect Man.  The catch is he has to make the film 5 times and each time he has to adhere to rules that von Trier will set for him. 

The movie that is to be remade is a minimalist short film out of Denmark.  It is in black and white and the only dialogue heard is by voice over.  In the film a man goes about his day in front of a white space.  It is every artsy fartsy film school experiment rolled into one.

In The Five Obstructions von Trier provides Leth with a series of obstructions in an attempt to make him uncomfortable and to view that uneasy in the remakes of his film.  The first series of rules are: 12 frames maximum (aprox. 3 shots per second.  The Perfect Human was done in long takes) and that he had to film it an a place Leth had never been.  The Second Obstruction was to make the film in the most dangerous or disturbing area you can think of and Leth had to to play The Perfect Human.  Third was "no rules".  Leth was to do a true remake, only 36 years later.  It was to be for the time now like it was then.  Fourth was to make it into a cartoon.  Both director hated cartoons.  Then the 5th and final obstruction was that he had to let go of control.  Von Trier shot and directed the final obstruction.  Leth only recorded the voice over without knowing what he was talking about.  Leth also had to accept the director creidt for the film he didn't make.

Von Trier used the documentary footage he had been collecting in the making of The Five Obstructions and edited it down and put the voice over work on top of the images.  The film is kind of a desconstruction of documentary film making as well as a little about the nature of man.  The hardest thing for Leth to do was to let go of a project that he was so passioniate about.  Then the true revel is that the fifth obstruction actually showed what von Trier was like more so than Leth.  It was von Trier that was the puppet master.   Von trier was the one causing (or attempting to cause) the pain and anguish.  Leth was mearly a lithmus test.

All and all this was an interesting study.  This is not basic watching.  Cinephiles only.  I give The Five Obstructions a 3/5 stars.  Check out the Trailer Park to see for yourself.

Day #19 Dogville

Lars Von Trier.  That name is almost a blog in its self.  The name alone evokes emotions from almost everyone who has seen any of his films.  He is most likely the most ....... I am drawing a blank on how to describe him.  A common phrase is "either you will love him, or you will hate him".  I don't think that even begin to qualify peoples feeling on my Von Trier.  To say that some people HATE him is a gross understatement.  He receives death threats on a common basis.  He has been called everything in the book from a masochist, a misogynist, and a sadistic pornographer.  All of which might be true.  His fans praise him to the highest degree.  I have even read blogs claiming him to literally be the second coming of Christ, and fans that have offered to die for him.

I fall somewhere in between.  So far I have seen 4 of his movies and I have to say that I really like 3 of them.  I won't mention the others cause I might be bloging about them later.

Dogville is an art project.  Make no mistake about it.  It is a stage play on film.  I mean that literally.  The entire movie is set on a minimalist stage.  There are chalk line on the floor that represent walls of houses and builds.  Each house contains a prop that is used in some way during the film.  When people enter or exit these wall-less structures they mock open and close the imaginary doors.  The films is broken into a prologue and 9 chapters.  After the prologue was over I wondered if they were going to stick to this aesthetic.  I wasn't sure I could make it though a 2+ hour movie like that.  No only did I make it though, I loved it and was horrified by it at the same time.

Dogville is about a very small American town in the mountains during the depression era.  One night a strange woman appears by intriguing and possible illegal circumstances.  The town philosopher convinces the rest of the community to allow her to stay if she can prove to the town that she is worthy of the privilege.  She then goes around town and helps out with chores and makes friends.  Soon a couple of other visitors appear in Dogville.  Their messages make it more dangerous for the town to stow away Grace, so in return she agrees to take on more responsibilities in the town.

The movie then begins to spiral out of control while Von Trier preaches to the viewers about the nature of greed, jealously and evil.  The men in the town begin taking advantage of Grace sexually. The women folk get word of her loose morals and begin punishing her.  She is truly and utterly tortured by the towns people by the third act.  But have no fear.  The last 20 minutes of this film are so raw and shocking that they literally took my breath away.  Thinking back I can't believe that a film maker had the balls to pull off where Von Trier did at the end of this film.  It reminds me of when Hitchcock killed off Janet Leigh after the first hour in Psycho (spoiler alert!).  I hate it when watching a "thriller" and I have it figured out after the first 15 minutes.,  That has never been a problem with a Von Trier picture.

I have read a lot of reviews of this movie that claim Von Trier is making an anti-American statement.  I can see their point, but if that was all they were focusing on I think they missed the point of the entire film.  The movie is manipulative and confrontational and totally compelling.  This is a must watch in my book, but it is a one timer for me.  I am in no hurry to watch this one again.  All that having been said, I give this movie a 4/5 stars.  For more information check out the link below for the trailer.

Day #12 - Fargo

I realized something today.  I am a day behind on my blogs.  Today is the 13th and I am writing my 12th blog.  I assure you that I have watched at least 1 movie every day.  What I am finding is that I type too slow and write too much.  The watching of the movies isn't as time consuming as the blogging about them.  I realized something else.  I do have 8 Coen Brother movies, but 1 of them is the Big Lebowski and I will be reviewing and blogging about it live on Friday.  I started my marathon a day early.  I only have enough Coen Brother movies to last me through Wednesday night. 

No worries though.  I took my kids to see Inception this Sunday on top of watching Barton Fink.  Also Friday I watched Lars Von Trier's Dogville.  I can blog about either of them on Thursday as well as my regularly scheduled daily movie.  I have a few options for Thursday.  I think I am going to see a Rollings Stone 1972 Concert film that is being released into theaters for one night only.  I saw Shine a Light (the Martin Scorsese docu-concert) in 2008, and Gimme Shelter (the Albert Maysles docu-concert) is currently in my DVD queue. I am a bit of a Stones fan.  Or I was thinking about watching the Sam Rami directed "A Simple Plan" which was inspired by his friends and collaborators the Coen Brothers.  I guess we will see.

This is the first time I skipped a movie in the chronological pattern I have been adhering to.  The Hudsucker Proxy was released between Barton Fink and this film.  I like the Hudsucker Proxy, but I do consider it minor Coen and it is not in my DVD collection.

So I spent the first three paragraphs rambling on instead of getting right into the quintessential Coen Brother movie, Fargo.  Perhaps that is because I am not sure that I am going to bring anything new to the conversation about this movie.  It is near perfect.  It won the Best Picture Oscar in 1997 along with almost every other award it was nominated for.  I guess if you have been living under a rock for the past 13 years I will provide a brief rundown of the plot.

Jerry Lundegaard is a used car salesman that concocts a scheme to milk his father-in-law out of some money in order to invest in a parking lot.  This plan involves kidnapping and holding for ransom Jerry's wife.  Things go horribly wrong and swirl out of control.  The small town police get involved and begin to investigate the case.  Basically it can be boiled down to EVERY Coen Brother plot:
A person with good intentions comes across a bag of money and manage to get into situations that they are unable to resolve.

 Again, Roger Dekins is the man behind the camera.  Again the setting is as much of a character as any living person in the film.  Again the writing is sharp, witty, and spot on.  Again the performances are captivating and again the cast is filled out with Coen regulars. 

One of the things that the Coens are known for is the dissection of genre.  Or at least the refusal to pin-hole there films.  Fargo is no different.  It is a noir comedy set in the frigid landscape of North Dakota and Minnesota.

I honestly don't have a lot to spew about this movie.  More truthful, I don't have the time to write my full report about this movie.  I could talk or write about it for hours.  I am hesitant to declare a film a masterpiece, but I think it fits the bill.  The exciting thing is that it isn't even their best movie in my opinion.  That is still to come.  Tomorrow I will be skipping The Big Lebowski (waiting for the fest!) and watching "O Brother, Where Art Thou?"  But as for Fargo I give it another 5/5 stars.  For more information check out the link below for the trailer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EB4PmbfG4bw