With his iconoclastic air, mercurial playfulness and provocative refusal to kowtow to the demands of mainstream cinema, Danish director Lars von Trier is a filmmaker who knows the value of breaking the rules.
"REMARKABLE DOCU-DRAMA"
So it's something of a surprise to see the leader of the Dogme95 movement turn into a "satanic", rule-obsessed martinet in this remarkable docu-drama about the clash between two filmmakers. Von Trier approaches renowned director Jørgen Leth and forces him to remake his classic short film, The Perfect Human, for the 21st century.
Playing dictator rather than director, von Trier issues his hero with a list of obstructions in an attempt to get him to remake this marvellous short - one which von Trier has watched over 20 times in rapt admiration - as a piece of "crap".
What follows is a reality TV-esque docu-drama in which Leth is despatched to various locations - from Mumbai's red light district to the sun-stroked streets of Havana - while von Trier issues a series of increasingly demented rules about how the remake must proceed: each take must be 12 frames; no sets allowed; Leth must play the lead role himself; the whole thing must be made as a cartoon.
As Leth struggles to break out of the constraints that von Trier imposes on him, we get to see the artistic process laid bare. For no matter how hard his antagonist tries to prevent him from making a great film, the laid-back director always delivers something that's several shades removed from the "crap" that's demanded of him.
"OUTRAGEOUS GENIUS"
A fascinating meditation on filmmaking and a remarkable intellectual exercise, The Five Obstructions illustrates the way in which innovation flourishes in the wake of adversity. It also offers conclusive proof of von Trier's outrageous genius - a man who understands the value not only of breaking rules, but of using their existence to one's own advantage.
In Danish and sundry other languages, with English subtitles.
The Five Obstructions (De Fem Benspænd) (2003)
