The Five Obstructions

Lars von Trier enters the world of documentary filmmaking with a meticulous manifesto with an unprecedented mission. Together with Danish documentary film veteran Jørgen Leth, Trier takes on the task of challenging conventional ways of documentary and film production. Both directors share a fascination with getting into the bone of filmmaking. Down to basic elements, simplicity of image and sound. In 1967 Jørgen Leth made a 12-minutes short film called The Perfect Human, a document on human behavior containing the familiar Leth themes – a film that Trier greatly admires and claims to have seen more than 20 times. In the year 2000, Lars von Trier challenged Jørgen Leth to make five remakes of this film, but each time Trier brought forward more obstructions, prompting Leth to re-think the story and the characters of the original film from 1967. Playing the naive anthropologist, Leth attempts to embrace the cunning challenges set forth by the devious and sneaky Trier. Five times Leth will have to deal with the limitations, commands, and prohibitions made by Trier. It is a game full of traps and vicious turns. A fascinating and never seen film about a filmmaker not only revisiting but also recreating one of his first films. The Five Obstructions is an incredible investigative journey into the phenomenon of filmmaking.

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Direction: Jørgen Leth, Lars von Trier

Script: Lars von Trier, Jørgen Leth

Cinematography: Dan Holmberg

Editing: Camilla Skousen, Morten Højbjerg

Sound: Hans Møller

Actors: Jørgen Leth, Lars von Trier, Jacqueline Arenal, Daniel Hernández Rodriguez, Patrick Bauchau, Alexandra Vandernoot

Production: Zentropa Real, Wajnbrosse Productions, Almaz Film Productions, Panic Productions

Producers: Carsten Holst

Executive producer: Peter Aalbæk Jensen, Vibeke Windeløv

Format: DCP

Color: Color

Production Country: Denmark, Belgium, Switzerland, France

Production Year: 2003

Duration: 91'

Contact: The Danish Film Institute

Awards/Distinctions: FIPRESCI Prize – Motovun FF 2004, The Influentials – Cinema Eye Honors 2015

Jørgen Leth

Filmography

1968 The Perfect Human (short)
1977 A Sunday in Hell
1986 Moments of Play
1992 Traberg
2003 The Five Obstructions (co-direction)
2015 Pelota II (co-direction)
2019 I Walk
2022 Music for Black Pigeons (co-direction)

Lars von Trier

Filmography

1984 The Element of Crime (fiction)
1996 Breaking the Waves (fiction)
2000 Dancer in the Dark (fiction)
2003 The Five Obstructions (co-direction)
2009 Antichrist (fiction)
2013 Nymphomaniac (fiction)
2018 The House That Jack Built (fiction)