Die Idioten

Idioterne / The idiots has great similarity to Breaking the waves and Dancer in the dark: A naïve girl falls victim to the circumstances and pays too high a price. Nearly all von Trier's movies are about idealism, and so is this one. Stoffer as the group leader at first seems the binding factor, but as all others have different reasons than idealism to enter the group he establishes his leadership with increasing emphasis on psychological force and less on convincing arguments. As all members have a desire to stay in the group (again for different reasons) he then demands that they go to extreme lengths to show their commitment to the cause and indirectly to him. Hence the orgy scene (as viewers we end up with more seating comfort in the cinema after that). Then all thresholds are passed; the outsider (father) steps in to bring them back to reality and diminish their renewed established group bond. Stoffer then demands the ultimate sacrifice. Only the naïve Karen is able to be an idiot in real life in one of the most painful and harrowing scenes ever put on screen.

It feels somewhat rushed in writing and making which is odd because von Trier is known as a perfectionist. All his directing efforts seem to be put here in the actors so there is good acting across the board. The Dogme-rules only contribute to greater intensity. Von Trier interviews the actors in the movie so there is a parallel between the movie's group dynamics and the actor's group dynamics.

Breaking the waves was in my opinion overlong. Dancer in the dark was placed too much in the fantasy screen world and had therefore less dramatic impact. From the Golden Hearts-trilogy I personally like this the most.

I'm surprised that no one commented on the pseudo documentary's shaky reality as mirroring the problematic reality of the Idiots in the movie. Their attempts to be real idiots so as to appreciate their "inner idiots" parallels the feature film's attempt to mimic the documentary format so as to achieve credibility. By showing the overacting and crew shots in the movie, perhaps it was the director's way of commenting on the the shaky reality of the Idiots existence.

But even though we know that it's a feature film trying to be a documentary, we are still drawn to the vicarious experience of the movie - we still enjoy it as a movie. Perhaps another statement about finding happiness in a fake reality?

Like Idiots, the audience goes into an escaped reality when they go to the cinema, hoping to experience what the protagonists feel on screen. But like the idiots, the denial is only temporary. The final fate of Karen seems to warn the the audience that at the end of the day, this escaped formed of reality is no match to the "real" world that is out there.

I think Lars Von Trier ranks among the best filmmakers as I found his 'Breaking The Waves', 'Dancer In The Dark' and 'Dogville' to be exceptional films of a class apart. Then, I saw 'Idioterne'. I liked the story idea where a group of people form a cult and disobey social rules. However, the telling of it failed to impress me on any level. The execution is very amateur. While the intention of the shaky camera was to give the viewer a feel of being a voyeuristic outsider, in some shots you could actually see the microphone. There are some very explicit and pointless pornographic scenes merely put for shock value. I don't mind shock value as long as it's relevant to the story but what was the need to show a penis or sexual intercourse (where you can actually see penetration)? The acting is quite bad with the exception of Bodil Jørgensen who is terrific as the tormented Karen. Many seem to like the film because of the provocative theme and because it's 'different'. But is that all that makes a movie good?

"Idioterne" is a good and enjoyable to watch Dogma movie. The style (or better said; the lack of style) and storytelling are unique and help to make "Idioterne" a one of a kind movie experience. Just like the story in the movie; it's a successful experiment.

As a sort of a social experiment, a group of people decides to release the 'idiot' in themselves to see how the environments responds to them. Sounds like good enough material to make a hilarious comedy with but "Idioterne" never goes over-the-top and always retains a sort of realistic feeling. The movie is made in documentary style with some mixed results as a direct result of this. For most part the movie is realistic and it has an improvised feeling over it but some of the sequences are obviously planned and acted out. In those sequences it becomes painfully obvious that the actors in this movie aren't really first-rate. It makes those sequence feel forced and ridiculous. Those sequences are in contrast with the rest of the movie its style and overall feeling.

Yet the movie remains perfectly good to watch. It never becomes really great or hilarious but the movie is simply perfectly entertaining to watch nevertheless.

The movie has some interesting sequences and confrontations in it that all helps to make this movie quite a memorable one. It's a movie that confronts at times and makes us as viewers think about how we would respond and act if we were in one of the situations as portrayed in the movie.

For fans of Dogma this is an absolute must-see. It has everything in it what makes Dogma movies so great. It's perhaps not the best Dogma movie but it certainly is one of the most enjoyable- and more light to watch ones.

7/10

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While not quite at the same level as _Breaking the Waves_, the only other Lars von Trier I have seen (his films are quite hard to come by in Midwestern American video stores, you understand), _The Idiots_ is still a great film, and, in some ways, is just as important.

I have to comment on a lot of the reviews I've seen for this movie. A lot of viewers judge the film by the theories and views about the group's existence (particularly the view spoken by the most outspoken of the Idiots, Stoffer). This is surely not the way von Trier meant his audience to take the film. If you paid any attention to the film, you'll notice that the Idiots' lifestyle is never glamorized. Everyone's experience in the group ends in embarrassment and despair. You should also note that none of the Idiots has the same opinion of why they like to act the idiot. Stoffer might say that they do it to upset the bourgeosie (I don't pretend to know how to spell that word), but the next person might be doing it just to play around. The artist (whose name escapes me at the moment) is doing it to become a better artist, and the doctor is doing it almost for experiment. There is never a reason for the groups' existence that the entire group agrees upon. This is extremely important for understanding this film.

The way _The Idiots_ particularly hit me was in the characterizations. The actors are so great in this film that they hit the level of: "Is this really acting, or is it just being?" von Trier hit the same level in _Breaking the Waves_. These actors were so good, their characters just jumped out of the script. There are many characters, and only a few of them are characterized in the script extensively. Stoffer, although not the main character, is the most prominent character in the script. Many of the characters don't have all that many lines or screen time, but I felt I knew them all well.

I also appreciated that it actually entertained me. I wasn't expecting to enjoy it so much. It is often very, very funny (if offensive). It also gripped me emotionally. I did not particularly comprehend the ending's meaning, but it left me with a powerful emotion. I did have tears in my eyes when I left the theater, and a lot of thoughts in my head. When a man outside the theater stopped me to ask me how I liked it, my lips and my brain were too dry to actually answer anything but, "I liked it. I liked it a lot." 9/10