#the five obstructions

[tyger-land]

𝗟𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝘃𝗼𝗻 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗿 Lyngby, Denmark, 2022

[wisteria-lodge]

I just got my vaccines and I'm a little punchy, so I'm going to talk about one of my favorite (weird) pieces of comfort media: Lars von Trier and Jørgen Leth's The Five Obstructions (2003)

(1 hr 20 minutes, here's the link on Vimeo)

I'm really, really trying to think of a way to describe this film. It's a documentary? It's like a one-on-one episode of Game Changer, only everyone involved is a controversial avant-garde Danish director. And none of it is funny.

(...I actually do find lars von trier kind of funny. I'm not sure I'm supposed to.)

It's a movie where lars von treir makes his director friend remake the same short film over and over again, only with more extreme limitations each time. As a way to... make him fail? make him step out of his comfort zone/inertia? put his name on something he doesn't think is perfect, as some kind of object lesson about vulnerability and and letting go of control?

and Jorgen Leth is letting Lars Von Treir torture him for, idk. Reasons.

My other way to describe this film would be like... weirdly sweet nonsexual bdsm movie? Like I'm not crazy, that is the type of filmmaker Lars Von Treir is. It is a film about power dynamics, it's a film about the power dynamics baked into being a filmmaker, the philosophical, ethical, voyeuristic aspects of putting pain up on a screen. And I think... Lars Von Trier is a madman who thought ... softcore BSDM film... would be a good way to explore that?

Like he (Lars) checks in a lot. There's a lot of food and praise at the end of each challenge. He punishes Jorgen Leth when he disobeys (usually by refusing to give him more prompts) He says things like "you know how fond I am of you... but I'm going to have to exercise my authority" and leth will respond. "so teacher is displeased?" Leth will spend two minutes monologing about how he categorically refuses to do something, and then Lars Von Trier will quietly say - "No?" And Leth does it.

Right before going into the final task, Lars Von Trier tells Leth - "You're just like those actors, all nervous. Don't be. All your guilt, I have taken upon me. You are guiltless. You are like a little child. You don't have to do a thing." It turns out that the final challenge is Leth needs to let Lars Von Trier direct the film completely, and then put his name on the finished product, no matter what it is. Leth also has to read a voice over speech that Von Treir has written from Leth's POV, roasting himself (Lars Von Treir) while basically making Leth read out praise about himself (Leth.)

So I'm kinda fascinated by this film. I want to know more about why it exists. I would recommend it if it seems at all your thing, and Imma go watch it now.

[highvolumetal]

The Five Obstructions , Lars von Trier , 2003.

[tom-isaacs]

Blind Bouquet - Sam Paine

A few years ago a friend asked me to propose an ‘obstruction’ for an art series he was working on. Blind Bouquet is the resulting artwork:

In The Five Obstructions exhibition at Dubbo’s Western Plains Cultural Centre, I created five works based on sets of rules or ‘obstructions’ set by five contemporary artists. The exhibition borrowed its name and concept from a Lars von Trier film, in which a filmmaker is challenged to remake his classic short film under five sets of obstructions provided by a colleague. My goal was to disrupt my fairly traditional painting practice through the influence of contemporary artists' ideas.

Blind Bouquet – acrylic and modelling paste on plywood

“Create a painting without viewing the canvas until the work is finished.” Performance artist Tom Isaacs

I used modelling paste to thicken the paint so that I could feel where I had painted and let my hands be my vision. This piece was the most daunting challenge for me – it was not the most technically difficult piece, but it took away my most common tool for judgement and decision-making, loosening my control over the result.

[moviecinepelis]

[noentiendotiendo]

The Five Obstructions (2003), dir. Jørgen Leth and Lars Von Trier.

[trashandtreasurespod]

The Five Obstructions - Lars von Trier Tries Optimism

It doesn't work.

Lars von Trier -- agent provocateur if you're generous, director with a hard-on for depicting female suffering and trolling film festivals if you're Vrai -- took a strange turn in 2003, with the only documentary of his career. Here we find von Trier trying to help a director who inspired him get over his artist's block.

Yes, Lars "Bjork spit in his face every day of shooting" von Trier tried to help someone.

The results are decidedly mixed.

Kyle's Melancholia Review

Part 1

Part 2

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[noentiendotiendo]

The Five Obstructions (2003), dir. Jørgen Leth and Lars Von Trier.