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In 1995,
Danish writer/director Lars von Trier established Dogma, a oddly
restrictive anti-establishment filmmaking manifesto that
requires its participants to take a vow of chastity forbidding
the use of, among other things, props, sets, artificial sound
and light, lens filters and superficial action, all while
filming with one handheld camera.
To date, it’s worked wonders – producing von
Trier’s phenomenal Breaking
the Waves, Thomas Vinterberg’s The
Celebration and 1999 Cannes favorite Mifune.
von Trier’s decree also forces its filmmakers to give up the
idea that they are creating art “at the cost of any good taste
and any aesthetic considerations.”
Yikes!
After
watching The Idiots
you could get the impression that von Trier is probably more
than a little like the film’s lead, Stoffer (Jens Albinus). Stoffer is the ringleader of a very bizarre co-ed communal
household of fellow Danes that have shunned the normal life for
that of relative idiocy. That’s
right – I said idiocy. The
David Lynch lookalike Stoffer and his housemates venture out
into civilization for the sole purpose of acting like retards.
Now before
you get all upset, think back to Matt Dillon telling Cameron
Diaz about his little friend “Mongo,” and tell me that you
didn’t laugh up a lap full of popcorn.
Acting retarded isn’t wrong.
In fact, Adam Sandler gets $20 million per picture to do
it. Someday you
might even encourage your kids to do the same.
But these
idiots are different than Sandler’s.
They’re probably closer kin to Stanley Tucci and Oliver
Platt in The Impostors
– people using their skills to con themselves into positions
that are generally unobtainable by the average Joe (or, in this
case, the average Bjørn).
Acting retarded is handy when you’re dining out and
want to skip out on the check.
It can also get you access to tour a factory that would
otherwise be off-limits.
Don’t get
me wrong – this movie shouldn’t make you think of Pauly
Shore. It’s a
fascinating character study that makes you wish that the film
could continue on after the credits role, just so you could
learn more about what makes these people tick (the handheld
filming gives The Idiots
a very real, documentary feel).
Why is Stoffer so hell-bent on obtaining perfect idiocy? Why do the young lovebirds Jeppe (Nikolaj Lie Kaas) and
Josephine (Louise Mieritz) still act retarded during their first
romantic encounter? Why
does Karen (Bodil Jørgensen) seem so willing to be kidnapped by
the idiots during one particular scam?
Trying to answer these questions is pretty futile once
the full-penetration scene hits the screen.
But I’m not complaining…
1:57 -
 for
nudity, strong sexual content and adult language
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