The Five Obstructions

Awesome idea for a film. I love the mindgames between the two directors and their quest to outdo one another. Their relationship is also very touching. You can tell von Trier really respects Jorgen Leth.

Asks a lot of fascinating questions about filmmaking. It's great to see the way Von Trier tries to trap Leth, and then how Leth finds ways to weasel around him and still make a good short. The India clip is one of the most visually stunning pieces of film I've ever seen. Extremely enjoyable and thought-provoking movie.

A film which could not have been conceived by anyone other than Lars von Trier.

What's the connection between life, discipline and creativity? Von Trier's film makes a compelling case for the external imposition of rigid aesthetic standards, while also fashioning a playful tribute to one of his mentors. A unique experience.

I enjoyed watching the movie and it was interesting to watch the concept play out. I feel like the real payoff happens when one takes the idea presented and thinks about the hypothetical or actual application to one's own or another's artistic practice, regardless of form or media.

Leave it to Trier's devlish ingenuity to challenge one of his mentors, Jørgen Leth, to redo a movie about perfection. These sort of experiments should be applauded and encouraged. Leth's results are rather magnificant, but the in-between talks seem staged and/or badly filmed/edited. But whatever, this random dude on IMDB said it best when he said "I don't know much about art, but this movie is like that scene where Obi-Wan meets Darth Vader".

An example of the power of film as an art, and how true artists can find a way to be creative and unique under any circumstances.

One of my favorite films about the craft of filmmaking. Thoughtful, stark, hypnotic, intoxicating. A must for those interested in where the thought process behind "art cinema" leads directors.

My favorite Lars von Trier film! Of course, Lars von Trier is my least favorite filmmaker of all time, so take that as you will!

Manages to closely articulate the joust of mental warfare between two creative forces who happen to be great friends. This is really a deeply felt show of respect and love from LVT to one of his clear mentors.

I don't know that I agree with von Trier's purported motivations for the film, both in theory and execution, but the resulting film, and the insight into Leth's creative process it provides, is fascinating regardless. The discussions between the two, showing the malleable interpersonal dynamic where they take turns challenging each other, are great, a kind of Dinner with Andre focused on slightly sour filmmakers discussing their craft and trying to unravel each others motivations and feelings.

This is a cool little documentary film. I'd recommend this to anybody interested in the filmmaking process.

A lesson in filmmaking and the nature of art in film

This takes the Dogme95 ideas to the next level, allowing him to torment other directors the way he torments his actors. It's a fascinating examination of the filmmaking process, and how boundaries can affect the output. LVT isn't interested in getting a "good" movie, he pushes Leth to personally delve deeper into the meaning of his work. The one problem I had was that I felt the obstructions got progressively less interesting. Still, it's a brilliant idea, and one I'd love to see him try again.

Fun to watch how two of denmark's most iconic directors sparks with originality when put together. My favorite of the short films they make in the process was actually the first one. Loved when Leth said that he wasn't perverse...

Any mental health professional would have a field day with von Trier. He's got all kinds of weird love/hate, student/mentor shit going on with Jorgen Leth. And of course that's what makes the movie so riveting. Probably my favorite thing that LVT has done.

A very interesting look at the obstacles a filmmaker must tackle. It's also amusing to see these two egos wrestle with each other. However, I felt that the ending lacked the profundity that the one director hoped for.

A really engrossing game of one-upsmanship. I won't pretend to be smart enough to "figure out" the meaning behind the original "The Perfect Human", but I really enjoyed seeing this duel of personalities unfold, along with Leth's creative solutions to Trier's "obstructions". Possibly my favorite aspect: Trier's glum resignation that Leth was succeeding in making interesting films..."I would love for it to be crap."

22 Agustos 07 - cnbc-e

This is very stimulating in how game-playing draws out the ethical and philosophical preoccupations of each filmmaker. There is a lack of resolution but the process is quite tense. All the same, an interesting experiment does not make a good film, and the game remains not much more than a game.

Happy to report that The Five Obstructions is still great

Very unique and thought provoking experiment. I really liked the first film. The second one was also very good. The other 4 feel a bit forced but that's understandable. I wish I would have watched the original before watching this.

A project between two creative geniuses that I wish was recorded/challenged more among others. Wonderful to watch.

This stuff is crack if your favorite genre is metafilms about filmmaking. I thought it'd be von Trier and Leth going back and forth with challenges but instead it's just von Trier bullying Leth the entire time, lmao.

here, von trier isn't creative enough and leth is too uptight for the concept to completely take off. for all it does manage to reveal about filmmaking, it leaves a lot more to be desired.

A Tough challenge brought on by such minds

Leth's abilities flower completely under the first set of obstructions making for a film that is better than his original proving that sometimes it is only with limitations in place that an artist can perform to the best of their potential. Unfortunately the later efforts are less interesting, the film's structure is flawed (why aren't we shown all of the original The Perfect Human at the beginning?) and von Trier's smugness can be irritating.

entertaining and different movie about the creative process.

A lot of fun, with Von Trier gleefully playing the devil (a role which, no surprise, he's good at) and Leth as his indefatigably cheerful rival, who steps up and meets every challenge Von Trier can throw his way.

Self-indulgent to be sure. But the filmmakers reveal, inadverdently or not that can be (or are perhaps too often) merely children learning how to act in public, and trying to make the world fit into some sort of sense-making frame.

Very self-indulgent.

If you think Lars von Trier's a SOB, watch him here, delighting in his own audacity as he sends his friend/mentor Jorgen Leth around the world to remake Leth's short "The Perfect Human" in various permutations. His enthusiasm is such that Leth's willingness to play along makes perfect sense. The results are great fun--bizarre animation, the coolest man in Cuba, and Leth eating a gourmet meal in the middle of Bombay's red-light district all factor in. Not deep, perhaps, but a great deal of fun.

I watched The Perfect Human on youtube in preperation for The Five Obstructions. I felt like I had a solid grasp on it. After watching the various interpretations here, I'm less sure.

The short films were great, but everything else was kind of tedious.

Watching these two filmmakers in this sort of game is absolutely amazing, hypnotic and challenging. It really shows Von Trier's harsh methods of work in a brilliant way.

"The success of the film depends almost distressingly on the audience's cheeky sense of bad faith toward Lars Von Trier." - Eric Henderson

I wish the obstructions could've been more playful (like the first two), but this is quite a fun film that examines how far some are willing to go in art, in terms of technique and personal tastes.

A really really interesting concept, but I don't care much for Jørgen Leth's original film, so it doesn't do all that much for me.

This was a very interesting idea for a film. Have a director remake his short film five times with different rules for each. I have never seen the original "The Perfect Human" before. They show most, if not all of it but it is not shown in order so I cannot tell. It's an interesting short. And some of the obstructions create interesting films as well. I particularly liked the one in Cuba and the one in Brussels. Over all it was good but a little slow in parts and I didn't like the ending at all.

Whether von Trier really wanted to force Leth to make a bad film or not, the real lesson of the five experiments is that great filmmakers will find a way to make a great film no matter what obstacles present themselves.

Reality-show drama for arthouse geeks. It should prompt some interesting theoretical discussions on the nature of film, in addition to disbelieving belly laughs.

Cinematic challenge ..

A really innovative idea that wasn't hopelessly squandered, thank god. Stayed engaging and interesting throughout.