The Idiots

Last updated

The Idiots
The Idiots theatrical poster.jpg
Danish release poster
Directed by Lars von Trier (uncredited; under Dogme rules)
Written byLars von Trier
Produced by Vibeke Windeløv
Starring
CinematographyLars von Trier
Edited byMolly Malene Stensgaard
Production
companies
Distributed by October Films
Release dates
  • 20 May 1998 (1998-05-20)(Cannes)
  • 17 July 1998 (1998-07-17)(Denmark)
  • 27 August 1998 (1998-08-27)(Netherlands)
  • 4 September 1998 (1998-09-04)(Sweden)
  • 8 January 1999 (1999-01-08)(Spain)
Running time
114 minutes [1]
Countries
  • Denmark
  • France
  • Italy
  • Netherlands
  • Spain
  • Sweden
LanguageDanish
Budget USD$2.5 million
Box office$7,235 [2]

The Idiots (Danish : Idioterne) is a 1998 Danish black comedy-drama film written and directed by Lars von Trier. It is his first film made in compliance with the Dogme 95 Manifesto, [3] and is also known as Dogme #2. It is the second film in von Trier's Golden Heart Trilogy , preceded by Breaking the Waves (1996) and succeeded by Dancer in the Dark (2000). It is among the first films to be shot entirely with digital cameras.

Contents

It was screened at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the Palme d’Or, despite being met with widespread criticism upon release. [4]

Plot

A seemingly anti-bourgeois group of adults spend their time seeking their "inner idiot" to release their inhibitions. They do so by behaving in public as if they were mentally disabled.

At a restaurant, the patrons are disturbed by the group's antics, which are barely contained by their supposed "handler", Susanne. The group refers to this behavior as "spassing", a neologism derived from "spasser", the Danish equivalent of "spaz". Unaware that the group is pretending, Karen, a single diner, is initially sympathetic to what she believes are their genuine disabilities. One of the group members holds her hand, compelling her to go along with them in a taxi. During the ride, she discovers their act, leading to a mix of discomfort and curiosity. Upon arriving at a large house, she learns that Stoffer, the apparent leader of the group, is supposed to be selling the property (which belongs to his uncle), but instead, it becomes the focal point for the group's activities.

The "spassing" is a self-defeating attempt by the group to challenge the establishment through provocation. The self-styled idiots feel that the society-at-large treats their intelligence uncreatively and unchallengingly; thus, they seek the uninhibited self-expression that they imagine a romantic ideal of disability will allow.

Stoffer, at his birthday party, wishes for a "gangbang", so the group members have group sex (without participation of Karen). Then, when Stoffer calls for the group members to let idiocy invade their personal daily lives; most of the members refuse to take up the challenge and decide to leave the group, leading the group to be dissolved. But Karen decides to take up the challenge. Karen takes Susanne back to her house, where they are greeted with surprise by Karen's mother. Karen has been missing for two weeks, following the death of her young baby; she offers no explanation of where she has been. Karen attempts to spaz in front of her family by dribbling her food, but this results in a violent slap from her husband, Anders. Karen and Susanne leave the house together.

Cast

Production

The Idiots is a co-production of companies from Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden. It was filmed during May and June 1997. [5] The script was written over just four days, between 16-19 May. [6] [7]

Style

The confession of a Dogme 95 film is an idea adapted by Thomas Vinterberg in the first Dogme 95 film: Make a confession if there were things happening on the shoot which are not in accordance with the strict interpretation of the Dogme 95 rules. It is written from the director's point of view. Accordingly, von Trier made the following confession:

In relation to the production of Dogme 2 "The Idiots", I confess:

All in all, and apart from the above, I feel to have lived up to the intentions and rules of the manifesto: Dogme95. [8]

In order to not violate Dogme 95 rule 2, forbidding the use of non-diegetic music, a harmonica player was recorded during the shooting of some scenes, including the end credits, even if he is not seen onscreen. [9]

Release

The Idiots provoked a storm of publicity and debates, one of which was about the fictional representation of disability. [10] Film critic Mark Kermode's reaction was to shout "Il est merde! Il est merde! (sic)" from the back of the auditorium during the official screening of the film at Cannes, a spontaneous review for which he was ejected from the venue. [11]

Channel 4 aired the film unedited in 2005 as part of the channel's "Banned" season exploring censorship and cinematic works. Viewer complaints prompted an Ofcom investigation, [12] which came out in favour of Channel 4. [10] In its ruling, Ofcom found the film "not in breach" of the relevant Code under the specific circumstances of the broadcast, that is "the serious contextualisation of the film within a season examining the censorship of film and television, its artistic purpose, the channel which transmitted it, the strong warnings before the film and prior to the scene in question and the scheduling after midnight". [13] Ofcom added the caveat that "while we do not consider the film was in breach of the Code on this occasion, we must consider carefully the acceptability of any similar content on an individual basis". [13]

The film is classified as adult-only in Argentina, Australia (though it has been shown uncut on TV with an MA rating), Chile, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom. In Switzerland and Germany, the film ran uncut with a 16-years rating in theaters, followed by a DVD release with the same rating and several uncut television airings. Following their acquisition of 11 of Von Trier’s films, Mubi will theatrically release a 4K restoration of the film on June 16, 2023 in celebration of its 25th anniversary. [14]

Reception

Critical reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 72% score based on 32 reviews, with an average rating of 6.5/10. The website's consensus reads, "The Idiots feels more like an experiment than a coherent narrative, but director Lars von Trier's provocative style and rumination on civilization will leave most audience members feeling like satisfied test subjects". [15] Metacritic reports a 47 out of 100 rating based on 15 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [16] Reactions to the film ranged from strong criticism to strong praise. A.O. Scott wrote a critical review in The New York Times , calling the film "a two-hour, semi-pornographic Mentos commercial" and singled out the final scene in particular for strong criticism, stating that the film "descends to truly contemptible emotional brutality". [17] Conversely, Owen Glieberman in Entertainment Weekly described the film as "a raw, funny, maddening ramble" where von Trier "seeks catharsis by pushing everything to extremes" and described the final scene as "a gripping moment of high torment". [18]

The Idiots was ranked #76 in Empire magazine's "The 100 Best Films of World Cinema" in 2010. [19] The magazine had previously given it a full five star rating on its release in UK cinemas. It is listed as #941 in the film reference book '1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die'.

Sexually explicit scenes

More controversy arose over the sexual content, which was unusually explicit for a narrative film. The Idiots contains a shower scene in which a member of the group (in character as an "idiot") has an erection and, later, a group sex scene that includes one couple (faces not seen, stand-ins from the porn industry [20] ) having unsimulated penetrative (vaginal) sexual intercourse. Both instances of explicit content are in view only for a few seconds. [21] The film was cleared for theatrical release by the British Board of Film Classification, receiving an 18 certificate. [22] When it was shown on Film4 (then FilmFour) in 2000, the erection and the intercourse were obscured by pixelization, following an order from the Independent Television Commission. [23] [24]

Accolades

The film was shown in competition at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lars von Trier</span> Danish director and screenwriter (born 1956)

Lars von Trier is a Danish film director, producer, writer, actor, and songwriter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Vinterberg</span> Danish film director

Thomas Vinterberg is a Danish film director who, along with Lars von Trier, co-founded the Dogme 95 movement in filmmaking, which established rules for simplifying movie production. He is best known for the films The Celebration (1998), Submarino (2010), The Hunt (2012), Far from the Madding Crowd (2015), and Another Round (2020). For Another Round, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director and won the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.

<i>The Element of Crime</i> 1984 Danish film

The Element of Crime is a 1984 experimental neo-noir crime film co-written and directed by Lars von Trier. It is the first feature film directed by Trier and the first installment of the director's Europa trilogy – succeeded by Epidemic (1987) and Europa (1991).

<i>The Kingdom</i> (miniseries) Danish television series

Riget is a Danish absurdist supernatural horror miniseries trilogy created by Lars von Trier and Tómas Gislason. Set in the neurosurgical ward of Copenhagen's Rigshospitalet, each episode of the show takes place over a single day, and follows the hospital's eccentric staff and patients as they encounter bizarre and sometimes supernatural phenomena. The series is notable for its wry humor, its muted sepia colour scheme, and the appearance of a chorus of dishwashers with Down syndrome, who discuss in intimate detail the strange occurrences in the hospital. The main theme's song was written by von Trier himself.

<i>Breaking the Waves</i> 1996 film by Lars von Trier

Breaking the Waves is a 1996 psychological drama film directed and co-written by Lars von Trier and starring Emily Watson in her feature film acting debut, and with Stellan Skarsgård, a frequent collaborator with von Trier.

Kristian Levring is a Danish film director. He was the fourth signatory of the Dogme95 movement. His feature films as director include Et skud fra hjertet, The King is Alive, The Intended, Fear Me Not, and The Salvation.

<i>The Celebration</i> 1998 Danish black comedy-drama film

The Celebration is a 1998 Danish black comedy-drama film directed by Thomas Vinterberg and produced by Nimbus Film. The film tells the story of a family gathering to celebrate their father's 60th birthday, juggling subjects of abuse, death, incest, suicide, and trauma. Vinterberg was inspired to write it with Mogens Rukov, based on a hoax broadcast by a Danish radio station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cinema of Denmark</span> Filmmaking industry in Denmark

Denmark has been producing films since 1897 and since the 1980s has maintained a steady stream of product due largely to funding by the state-supported Danish Film Institute. Historically, Danish films have been noted for their realism, religious and moral themes, sexual frankness and technical innovation.

<i>Italian for Beginners</i> 2000 Danish romantic comedy film

Italian for Beginners is a 2000 Danish romantic comedy film written and directed by Lone Scherfig, and starring Anders W. Berthelsen, Lars Kaalund and Peter Gantzler, together with Ann Eleonora Jørgensen, Anette Støvelbæk and Sara Indrio Jensen. The film was made by the austere principles of the Dogme 95 movement, including the use of handheld video cameras and natural lighting, and is known as Dogme XII. However, in contrast to most Dogme films which are harsh and serious in tone, Italian for Beginners is a light-hearted comedy. It was made on a $600,000 budget, and went on to gross over 27 times that.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paprika Steen</span> Danish actress

Kirstine "Paprika" Steen is a Danish actress and director best known for her performances in Dogme 95 films Festen, The Idiots, Mifune, and Open Hearts. Steen was the first Danish actress since Karin Nellemose in 1994 to win both Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress in the same year at the Robert Festival, the Danish equivalent of the Oscars.

Shari Roman is an American artist, author, screenwriter and director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zentropa</span> Danish film company

Zentropa, or Zentropa Entertainments, is a Danish film company started in 1992 by director Lars von Trier and producer Peter Aalbæk Jensen. Zentropa is named after the train company Zentropa in the film Europa (1991), which started the collaboration between von Trier and Jensen.

Anne Louise Hassing is a Danish actress. She is best known for her roles in the films Pain of Love (1992) and The Idiots (1998).

<i>Antichrist</i> (film) 2009 film by Lars von Trier

Antichrist is a 2009 horror art film written and directed by Lars von Trier and starring Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg. It tells the story of a couple who, after the accidental death of their son, retreat to a cabin in the woods where the man experiences strange visions and the woman manifests increasingly violent sexual behavior and sadomasochism. The narrative is divided into a prologue, four chapters, and an epilogue.

Bodil Jørgensen is a Danish film actress. She has appeared in 40 films since 1992. She starred in The Idiots, which was entered into the 1998 Cannes Film Festival.

Dogma 95 is a 1995 avant-garde filmmaking movement founded by the Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg, who created the "Dogme 95 Manifesto" and the "Vows of Chastity". These were rules to create films based on the traditional values of story, acting, and theme, and excluding the use of elaborate special effects or technology. It was supposedly created as an attempt to "take back power for the directors as artists", as opposed to the studio. They were later joined by fellow Danish directors Kristian Levring and Søren Kragh-Jacobsen, forming the Dogme 95 Collective or the Dogme Brethren. Dogme is the Danish word for dogma.

Events from the year 1998 in Denmark.

<i>Melancholia</i> (2011 film) 2011 film by Lars von Trier

Melancholia is a 2011 apocalyptic drama art film written and directed by Lars von Trier and starring Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, and Kiefer Sutherland, with Alexander Skarsgård, Brady Corbet, Cameron Spurr, Charlotte Rampling, Jesper Christensen, John Hurt, Stellan Skarsgård, and Udo Kier in supporting roles. The film's story revolves around two sisters, one of whom marries just before a rogue planet is about to collide with Earth. Melancholia is the second film in von Trier's unofficially titled Depression Trilogy. It was preceded in 2009 by Antichrist and followed by Nymphomaniac in 2013.

<i>The House That Jack Built</i> (2018 film) 2018 film by Lars von Trier

The House That Jack Built is a 2018 psychological horror art film written and directed by Lars von Trier. It stars Matt Dillon, Bruno Ganz, Uma Thurman, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, Sofie Gråbøl, Riley Keough, and Jeremy Davies. Its plot follows Jack (Dillon), a serial killer who, over a 12-year period from the late 1970s into 1980s, commits numerous murders in the U.S. state of Washington. Utilizing Dante's Inferno as a metatext, the film is structured as a series of flashback vignettes relayed by Jack to the Roman poet Virgil, during which Jack attempts to make an argument for his crimes.

The Golden Heart trilogy is three films by the Danish screenwriter and director Lars von Trier. It consists of Breaking the Waves (1996), a melodrama about sex and religion; The Idiots (1998), a Dogme 95 film dealing with moral conventions; and Dancer in the Dark (2000), a musical starring the Icelandic singer Björk.

References

  1. ↑ "The Idiots (18)". British Board of Film Classification . 15 February 1999.
  2. ↑ "The Idiots". The Numbers . Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  3. ↑ "A joke or the most brilliant film-maker in Europe?". The Guardian . 21 January 1999. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  4. ↑ "Dogme 95 — Rules, Manifesto and Films of a Radical Experiment". StudioBinder. 5 April 2020. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  5. ↑ Jerslev, Anne (2002). Realism and 'reality' in Film and Media. Museum Tusculanum Press. ISBN   9788772897165.
  6. ↑ Knudsen, Peter Øvig. "The Man Who Would Give Up Control". Dogme95.dk.
  7. ↑ Parker, Sabadino. "The Idiots". PopMatters – via internationalfilmseries.com.
  8. ↑ von Trier, Lars (1998). Dogme 2, Idioterne: manuskript og dagbog (in Danish). Gyldendal. ISBN   978-87-00-34238-5.
  9. ↑ "Interview of Lars von Trier". Dogme Collection #1-4: 10th Anniversary (DVD). Electric Parc. 2005.
  10. 1 2 Farey-Jones, Daniel (24 May 2005). "Channel 4 avoids action on complaints about Idiots orgy". Brand Republic . Haymarket Media Group.
  11. ↑ Kermode, Mark (13 May 2002). "Why I hate Cannes". BBC News .
  12. ↑ Barnes, Anthony (13 March 2005). "Channel 4 faces investigation for breaking last sexual taboo on TV" . Independent on Sunday . Archived from the original on 18 June 2022.
  13. 1 2 "The Idiots; Channel 4, 7 March 2005, 00:05" (PDF). Ofcom broadcast bulletin 35. 23 May 2005. pp. 8–9. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 April 2006.
  14. ↑ Dawe, Luke (12 May 2023). "'The Idiots': Lars Von Trier's Controversial Film Gets 25th Anniversary Theatrical Release". Collider . Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  15. ↑ "The Idiots". Rotten Tomatoes . Flixster . Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  16. ↑ "The Idiots reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  17. ↑ Scott, A.O. (28 April 2000). "'The Idiots': Colloquies on the Finer Points of Drooling". The New York Times . Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  18. ↑ Gleiberman, Owen (12 May 2000). "The Idiots". EW.com. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  19. 1 2 "The 100 Best Films of World Cinema: 76. The Idiots". Empire. Archived from the original on 20 November 2011. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  20. ↑ van der Vliet, Emma (18 May 2015). "Naked film: stripping with The Idiots". freepatentsonline.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  21. ↑ "17 Sex Scenes That Supposedly Weren't Simulated". WhatCulture. Archived from the original on 12 April 2016.
  22. ↑ Williams, Rhys (17 February 1999). "Group sex film passed by censor" . The Independent . Archived from the original on 18 June 2022.
  23. ↑ "Explicit art film to run on British movie channel". Studio Briefing . 27 April 2000. Archived from the original on 12 October 2004.
  24. ↑ Turner, Mimi (28 April 2000). "ITC orders cuts to FilmFour's 'Idiots' airing". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on 17 May 2013.
  25. ↑ "1999". Bodilpresen (in Danish). Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  26. ↑ "Idioterne". Festival de Cannes. Archived from the original on 16 July 2021. Retrieved 30 September 2009.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.