The Five Obstructions is somewhat a documentary film about two directors Lars von Trier and Jørgen Leth, where Leth has to create five obstructions to von Trier’s “favorite” film. Von Trier orders around Leth to do five obstructions of the film “The Perfect Human” which was directed by him as well. The Perfect Human was a 13 minute film that showed what a “perfect human being” was, where they moved in a boundless, abyss-like room. 

The first obstruction was to recreate the film in Cuba, with no less than twelve frames. He hired two actors to play the scenes and thus it was created. This one, he completes with no problem. It was a good few shots and the von Trier was no short of pleased with the film that was created. 

The second obstruction was to recreate the film in the “worst place in the world” with Leth playing the man in the film. He recreates this in the streets of Mumbai with a white screen behind him he was ready to go. Although, von Trier was not pleased with this film. He saw that Leth didn’t follow his exact specifications thus making this a failure. During this time (the showing of the film), the audience can see how displeased von Trier was with the creation. He somehow scolded Leth with his creation. I found this eerie as Leth was so much older than von Trier. He was a senior by nature. It was weird how someone younger was reprimanding Leth. 

Since von Trier was disappointed with the second obstruction, he gave Leth the choice to pick tthe third obstruction. Either to go back to India and do it again, or make a free-style film with his own style and no direction at all. Leth chooses the later and shoots in Brussels. Von Trier was once again pleased with the film and moves on to the next obstruction. 

The fourth obstruction, my personal favorite, was to remake the film into a cartoon. It was interesing at is was beautiful. The digital art work reminded me of “Archie’s Final Project”. They felt so the same, not in terms of story-line but in the was the graphics were maintained. He does so with the help of Bob Sabiston. It came out to be an animated film but nonetheless was still beautifully crafted.  

Lastly, the fifth obstruction was von Trier’s own version of “The Perfect Human”. This was to be credited and voiced by Leth, but was manufactured and written by von Trier. This was to encapsulate the entire project.

I felt as though the film was outrageous. It was a series of experimental short films put into one film. It was great but at the same time confusing. Like I said in the earlier paragraph, von Trier was obviously so much younger than Leth which played a big role in my being confused. If he was the senior why was he being ordered around like a little child and why did he allow himself to be ordered around so? I felt like throughout the film von Trier was making fun or was playing around with Leth. Which is why, I picked the title “Let the Games Begin” because I felt like the entire film was a game, playing with Leth’s head and skills. 

“No, I am a woman.” This revolutionary line, as I could imagine, sparked the interest of thousands of French and non-French people all around the globe. It showed the clash between man and woman through a series of conversations and arguments by the Angela and Emile. It showed how a woman can have power through her actions and words and how easy it is for women to get their way. I also liked the way the director, Jean-Luc Godard, used Anna Karina’s innocence and playfulness to highlight the general populace of women. He used her personality to feature how women can be. Silly as we may be, we always get our way. 

According to our professor, this film was supposed to be a musical and it was, for a short while, which was kind of confusing. Aside from the scenes that Angela had in the exotic club where she worked at and the part where she sang about Gene Kelly (link – 1:08-1:22). Which was quite interesting because apart from those two scenes there was no hint that it was a musical. Which is why despite it being called a “musical”, I personally didn’t think it was one, not a mainstream one at least. It showed Godard’s way of breaking the rules, creating a so-called “musical” without it being an actual musical.

The story-telling’s flow was pretty simple and was easy to follow. It was a good mix of quirky and funny to make sure that the audience was kept on the hook. It was a classic French New Wave film, similar to Godard’s other films. When asked about this particular film, he said, “I thought of the subject [of Une femme est une femme] while thinking about a musical neo-realism. It is an absolute contradiction, but it is precisely that which interests me in the film.”

I could compare the main character (Angela) to a modern woman, which is why my title is “une femme moderne” which is French for a modern woman. The film was made in 1961, which is where many if not most of the roles of women have progressed in France. The film vividly manifested Godard’s idea of a woman, which like most his films were way advanced from his time.

I wasn’t surprised when I watched the film and it’s outrageous plot. It was different, a breath of fresh air if you will. It showcased Godard’s personality and his ideals as a director. It was interesting how he used music and different sort of shots in order to exhibit each character’s personality and individuality. I loved how the director, used lights in order to focus the attention on what Angela wanted to portray.

I would consider Une Femme est Une Femme to be an art film, which is why when I read the supplementary reading Film Form and Narrative by Suzanne Speidel. I understood that heroes and heroines weren’t meant to relatable and likeable. They were meant to be unconventional and different to make audiences think. Both characters showed their own personal flaws and audiences found it weird and distasteful. Let us start with Angela’s occupation and Emile’s complete lack of concern towards Angela. 

Ultimately, I loved the film. I wouldn’t say it was Godard’s best one but I definitely enjoyed it. Although, I personally didn’t understand some parts it was interesting and watching this film. I realized that one does not need to understand every single concept that a director exhibits because some ideas were meant for us to find our own interpretation of them.