Lars von Trier is a very polarizing filmmaker. His cynicism borders on nihilism. He often takes truly innocent characters and subjects them to increasing amounts of unwarranted cruelty and injustice. For me, it worked to a masterful degree in BREAKING THE WAVES and less so in the heartrending DANCER IN THE DARK. Von Trier likes to work in trilogies, usually sharing themes not characters. This film, along with the two previously mentioned films, makes up his “golden heart” trilogy, where innocents are truly lost.
Here, the innocent and our conduit into the world of the story is Karen (Bodil Jorgensen), a quiet woman who has just experienced a mysterious tragedy. While dining in a nice restaurant, she meets Susanne (Anne Louise Hassing) and the mentally handicapped Stoffer (Jens Albinus, DANCER IN THE DARK) and Henrik (Troels Lyby). Most of the patrons seem uncomfortable and dismissive of Stoffer and Henrik as they wonder aimlessly around the restaurant. However, Karen gives a kind smile to Stoffer and doesn’t try to avoid eye contact with him like the rest of the people. When he grabs her arm and won’t let go, she is nice enough to escort him to the taxi, even going along for a ride with them. During that cab ride, we learn that the handicapped men are just play acting and that all three are part of a commune, which are trying to find their “inner idiot.”
Karen travels with them to their country home and joins them as they pull pranks on the community at large. Their visit to an insulation factory seems like an even more juvenile sketch than one that would be on JACKASS. Karen questions Stoffer about what they are doing and he explains that it’s an attempt to lash out at bourgeois middle class, exposing all its hypocrisy. He states that “retards” would have not survived in the Stone Age and that their existence is a luxury of modern society.
If your PC sensors are buzzing, it’s because this is a totally un-PC film. At first we are appalled by their stunts, but soon find a strange brilliance in the act. The commune ends up not making fun of the mental handicapped, but polite society’s reaction to them. The scene when a woman comes to look at the house to buy it really exemplifies the typical condescending and hypocritical treatment of the handicapped.
However, few people leave a Von Trier film not assaulted. Right when the whole philosophy of the commune starts to make some profound sense, Von Trier pulls the rug out from under us and exposes the hypocrisy of Stoffer and his “spassing.” Stoffer comes off as an egotistic dictator. The pointlessness of his whole rebellion against society comes to light in four key scenes — the visit of his uncle, the visit of the Down’s Syndrome people, what Stoffer does to Jeppe (Nikolaj Lie Kaas, 2004’s BROTHERS) at the bar and the game he wants to play at his “birthday party.” Stoffer claims to hate middle class society, but he has no problem living off its wealth in his uncle’s house or the corporate credit cards of fellow commune member Axel (Knud Romer Jorgensen).
In the end, when Stoffer challenges the others to take their spassing into their real lives, the commune begins to break down. Karen’s acceptance of the challenge ultimately underlines the duality of the whole film — belief in anything is a double-edged sword. It brings joy at times, pain at times and sometimes brings both at the same time. So you could say that the film argues that ignorance is bliss. This is only one of the many areas that Von Trier skewers. The other topics covered include lack of emotional understanding, commune life in general, the burden of rational thought and filmmaking in general (Stoffer can be seen as a director making actors act like idiots).
At times, the film can be either unnerving, devilishly funny, thought provoking, edge of your seat tense or heartbreakingly brutal. With the non-PC use of retard and idiot along with the extensive nudity and real sex, Von Trier means to shock, but does so in an intelligent, provocative way. This is not an easy film to watch, but you will never forget it as you contemplate what it all means to you.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
