- The Idiots
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This article is about the Danish film. For similar titles, see The Idiot.
The Idiots 
German movie posterDirected by Lars von Trier Produced by Vibeke Windeløv Written by Lars von Trier Starring Bodil Jørgensen
Jens AlbinusRelease date(s) May 20, 1998 (Cannes Film Festival) Running time 117 minutes[1] Country Denmark Language Danish The Idiots (Danish: Idioterne) is a 1998 Danish film directed by Lars von Trier. It is his first film made in compliance with the Dogme '95 Manifesto, and is also known as Dogme #2. It is the second film in von Trier's Golden Heart Trilogy, which includes Breaking the Waves (1996) and Dancer in the Dark (2000)
Contents
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 developmentally disabled. The Idiots is not concerned with actual disability, or with distinguishing between mental retardation and physical impairment.
At a restaurant, patrons are disturbed by the group's mischief, but single diner Karen (Bodil Jorgensen) develops an appreciation of their antics. The members of the group refer to this behaviour as 'spassing', a neologism derived from 'spasser', the Danish equivalent of 'spaz', which has the same connotations in Denmark as in English-speaking countries. Karen takes a ride in a taxi cab with the people from the restaurant, and she finds herself at a big house. The apparent leader of the group, Stoffer (Jens Albinus), is supposed to be selling the house (which belongs to his uncle), but instead it becomes the focal point for group 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', and both clothes and inhibitions are soon discarded. But when Stoffer calls for the group members to let idiocy invade their personal daily lives, only Karen takes up the challenge. She takes Susanne (Anne Louise Hassing) back to her house, where they are greeted by surprise by Karen's mother. Karen had been missing for two weeks, following the death of her young baby; she offers no explanation of where she has been. Karen attempts to spass in front of her family by dribbling the food she is eating, but this results in a violent slap from her husband, Anders. Karen and Susanne leave the house.
Cast
- Bodil Jørgensen as Karen
- Jens Albinus as Stoffer
- Anne Louise Hassing as Susanne
- Troels Lyby as Henrik
- Nikolaj Lie Kaas as Jeppe
- Louise Mieritz as Josephine
- Henrik Prip as Ped
- Luis Mesonero as Miguel
- Knud Romer Jørgensen as Axel
- Trine Michelsen as Nana
- Anne-Grethe Bjarup Riis as Katrine
- Paprika Steen as High Class Lady
- Erik Wedersøe as Stoffer's Uncle
- Michael Moritzen as Man From Municipality
- Anders Hove as Josephine's Father
Production
Breaches of Dogme 95 rules
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, Lars von Trier made the following confession:
In relation to the production of Dogme 2 "The Idiots", I confess:
- To have used a stand-in in one case only (the sexual intercourse scene).
- To have organised payment of cash to the actors for shopping of accessories (food).
- To have intervened with the location (by moving sources of light – candlelight – to achieve exposure).
- To have been aware of the fact that the production had entered into an agreement of leasing a car (without the knowledge of the involved actor).
In addition to these confessed breaches, the film also uses non-diegetic music mixed in during several pivotal scene transitions. Producing sound apart from the images violates Dogme 95 rule 2.
Reception
The film provoked a storm of publicity and debates, one of which was about the fictional representation of disability.[3] Film critic Mark Kermode's reaction was to shout "Il est merde! Il est merde!" (He was probably trying to say "It is shit!" in French, although the correct interjection would be "C'est de la merde!") 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.[4]
Another 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) having unsimulated penetrative (vaginal) sexual intercourse. Both instances of explicit content are in view only for a few seconds. The film was cleared for theatrical release by the British Board of Film Classification, receiving an 18 certificate.[5] 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.[6][7]
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,[8] which came out in favour of Channel 4.[3] 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."[9] 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."[9]
The Idiots is an adult-only movie in Argentina, Australia (though it has been shown uncut on TV with an MA rating), Chile, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, the United States, and the UK. In Switzerland and Germany the movie ran uncut with a 16-years rating in theaters, followed by a DVD release with the same rating and several uncut television airings.
The Idiots was ranked #76 in Empire magazine's "The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema" in 2010.[10]
Accolades
The film was shown in competition at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival.
- Bodil Awards (1999)
- Won: Best Actress, Bodil Jørgensen
- Won: Best Supporting Actor, Nikolaj Lie Kaas
- Won: Best Supporting Actress, Anne Louise Hassing
- Nominated: Best Film
- Cannes Film Festival (1998)
- Nominated: Palme d'Or[11]
- European Film Awards (1998)
- Nominated: European Film Award, Best Screenwriter
- London Film Festival (1998)
- Robert Festival (1999)
- Won: Best Actress, Bodil Jørgensen
- Valladolid International Film Festival (1998)
- Nominated: Golden Spike, Lars von Trier
References
- ^ Lasagna, Roberto; Lena, Sandra (32 May 2003). Lars von Trier. Gremese Editore. p. 124. ISBN 9788873015437. http://books.google.com/books?id=E9FYAibtRr4C&pg=PA122. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
- ^ Trier, Lars von (1998) (in Danish). Idioterne: manuskript og dagbog.. Gyldendal. ISBN 9788700342385. http://books.google.com/books?id=6LznAAAAMAAJ. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
- ^ a b Channel 4 avoids action on complaints about Idiots orgy, Brand Republic 24 May 2005
- ^ Kermode, Mark (Monday, 13 May 2002). "Why I hate Cannes". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/1985492.stm. Retrieved 2009-05-23.
- ^ Williams, Rhys (17 February 1999). "Group sex film passed by censor". The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/group-sex-film-passed-by-censor-1071335.html. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
- ^ Explicit Art Film To Run On British Movie Channel, Studio Briefing 27 April 2000
- ^ Itc Orders Cuts To Filmfour's 'idiots' Airing, The Hollywood Reporter 28 April 2000
- ^ Channel 4 faces investigation for breaking last sexual taboo on TV, Independent on Sunday 13 March 2005
- ^ a b The Idiots; Channel 4, 7 March 2005, 00:05, Ofcom broadcast bulletin 35 (pages 8-9), 23 May 2005
- ^ a b "The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema: 76. The Idiots". Empire. http://www.empireonline.com/features/100-greatest-world-cinema-films/default.asp?film=76. Retrieved 2011-01-02.
- ^ "Festival de Cannes: The Idiots". festival-cannes.com. http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/4911/year/1998.html. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
External links
- The Idiots at AllRovi
- The Idiots at the Internet Movie Database
- The Idiots at the TCM Movie Database
- The Idiots at Rotten Tomatoes
Lars von Trier FilmographyDirectorial
worksFeature filmsThe Element of Crime · Epidemic · Europa · Breaking the Waves · The Idiots · Dancer in the Dark · Dogville · Manderlay · The Boss of It All · Antichrist · MelancholiaCo-directedTelevisionShort filmsThe Orchid Gardener · Menthe – La bienheureuse · Nocturne · The Last Detail · Segment "Occupations" in To Each His Own Cinema · DimensionRelated topics Cinema of Denmark Categories:- Danish films
- Danish-language films
- Avant-garde and experimental films
- 1998 films
- Camcorder films
- Films directed by Lars von Trier
- Dogme 95 films
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