Portraying itself as a documentary, “the five obstructions” directed by Lars Von Trier is a highly inventive and visionary film composed of a series of films and behind the scenes shots, all coming together to construct the masterpiece that is “the five obstructions”. The short film, “the  perfect human” directed by Jorgen Leth presents ordinary, day-to-day tasks done by a man and a woman separately. With the hopes of recreating Danish filmmaker, Jorgen Leth’s masterpiece, he was put to the test by another renowned filmmaker, Lars Von Trier to recreate the film under his rules— five times in five different ways and places. 

Leth and Von Trier went head-to-head throughout the film as Leth followed Lars Von Tier’s monstrous and far-fetched requests and challenges. Without a doubt, It was not a smooth ride. It is definitely not easy to re-create a film, most especially if this film was shot in the 60’s, even more when you, as the director, will be starring in this remake in different locations. Commendable and insurmountable are understatements as to how Leth was able to excellently execute Von Trier’s commands. This whole idea of reinvention has brought him to the worst/most miserable place on earth, asking him to create an animation in which he expressed his dismay for, but did it anyway, and excellently, at that. Von Trier was actually dissatisfied with what they shot in Mumbai and gave Leth two options— either to fly all the way to India and do it all over again or create a freestyle film. Despite this, Leth continued on. 

In the five obstructions, we are able to perceive the film from the creator’s perspective. It gives you a bird’s eye view on why these filmmakers work the way they do, the creative process that takes place and how everything comes together by listening to their discussions and exchange of views. We see the film unfold beautifully before us, I think that is what sets this film apart. 

Although Leth may have had a hard time with Von Trier’s challenges, the whole point of Von Trier’s ridiculous commands only led Leth to eventually step out of his comfort zone, which brought colour and vibrance to his previous masterpiece, “the perfect human“. Lars Von trier’s ridiculous requests/proposals only led Leth to create and produce another masterpiece, potentially as big or even bigger than his much acclaimed short film, “the perfect human”. More than anything, it was a work of art. The visual style of the sequences and shots were magnificent, leaving you mesmerised while watching. Leth’s style of film making was definitely put to the test in the process but in the end, he was victorious in putting the film together, successfully stepping out of his comfort zone. We see how Leth cherished and believed in control and stability, and putting him together with Von Trier’s twisted ideas defying what he valued, only resulted in a ravishing work of art. It has driven Jorgen Leth’s much esteemed spot in the film world to even greater heights with this remake. 

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In Lars von Trier’s The Five Obstructions, he creates a documentary about the creation of art, specifically in the medium of film. My instant reaction to this film was that it was unlike the documentaries that I have watched before. This film continues the continuous theme in the films that I have watched in COM 115.5, wherein the European directors really digress from the standards that Hollywood in general has put in movies. The main difference that I noticed in this film, in contrast to more accustomed documentaries, is that it does not tackle a big social issue. The movie itself feels very small and contained to the goals that von Trier wanted to get out of Jorgen, the director of the original film he wants to be remade. My initial reaction was that the film felt minuscule because I was accustomed to documentary films having something to say in a social context. This film felt like a film fan, von Trier, being able to interact in the real world with his film idol, Jorgen.

It was interesting to see the different interpretations of Jorgen’s original film that von Trier gets out of Jorgen. It showcases different perspectives of how the film could have been made, under the stipulations von Trier made. This was a highlight for me because it showcases the quality of art that does not limit it to a particular style. It makes you appreciate the art mor and in this case, the original film because the different variations changed it but still had the essence of what Jorgen made.

I did feel that the film was quite dragging because I am not well aware of Jorgen’s original film so remaking it in different styles did not really encourage me to enjoy the movie. One factor is that it had a lot of conversations between Lars and Jorgen and then it goes to the finished product. I would have been more interested in Jorgen’s new process in remaking his film in the different styles. Although the film showed a few glimpses of behind the scenes filmmaking that Jorgen did, it was more focused on the dialogue between LArs and Jorgen and the finished film.

I also felt that the films that they were producing was to avant garde for me that I end up not getting what the point of the “The Perfect Human” is and it detaches me from the film. It also didn’t help that they were easily bouncing off to a new obstruction so I don’t have enough time to process the previous variations of the film. Although they were beautiful to look at I was not able to connect with the end goal of Lars and Jorgen.

I did like the back and forth between Lars and Jorgen because  it was the comic relief in the film that was full of artistic pretentious acts. I wished that the film either focused more on the relationship of student and teacher, between the two filmmakers, or the filmmaking process of the remake. This would have kept me engaged in the film, but the the film that I saw was interesting but just really hard to connect with.

Enrico R. Barruela COM 115.5

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. 

What kept going inside my head while I was watching the movie was “She’s just not that into you”. The way Anna acted around her fiancé made me question if she was as invested in their relationship as he was. I think that the time they spent apart made her realize that she was capable of being and living without him. Sure she misses him from time to time but she also constantly wanted the space. In a way, I felt that she was trying to find a way to leave him without really leaving him. In the boating trip, I could see resentment in her eyes even if she would kiss Sandro almost like she felt trapped in the relationship. Of course I really couldn’t tell what she was thinking but based on the body language, it’s what I assumed. When she jumped into the water and faked the shark in the water, it made me wonder again if she really wanted to disappear. So when Anna really disappeared, I wasn’t entirely shocked. The movie never lets you know what really happened to Anna. If she committed suicide, if she escaped to somewhere else without letting anyone know or if she got into an accident and died or if she was injured. It just lets you wonder on your own. One of the things that struck me was that they ruled out suicide just because they saw a bible in Anna’s things. As if having a bible meant that she would never attempt harm on herself, an absolute false basis.

The story line that was focused on Anna in the beginning, quickly begins to focus on her best friend, Claudia. Which is a big shift because in the start she seemed as if she were just a third wheel that didn’t have much depth. Although, we suddenly see a different side of Claudia after Anna’s disappearance. She is anxious and deeply worried of what really happened to her best friend. I think even if she doesn’t say anything, she leaned towards Anna running away rather than getting into an accident. She blamed Anna’s fiancé for her disappearance but as the day progressed, the two found themselves getting closer to each other. I believe the loss of a person they both thought to be closest to them is what brought Sandro and Anna together. This closeness soon develops into a strong attraction that Anna tries so hard to control. She controls it not because she doesn’t have feelings for him but because she feels it is too soon. She’s ashamed of herself because she knows Sandro is really Anna’s and not hers for the taking. But just as she tries to fight it, the more she is drawn and the further she is drawn to Sandro, the more the two forget about Anna. You could see in the movie, how quickly the two move on from Anna, barely even mentioning her. But at the same time, I think this might have been a coping mechanism for the two which would explain why they also seeked comfort from each other. Because of how quickly things were moving between the two, I wasn’t really sure if what they had was love. I knew they were attracted to each other but I was unsure of the motives and sincerity of this love. In the end when Claudia was getting hysterical thinking that Anna had come back and that Sandro would leave her, it made me think that maybe they were both just trying to push the idea of Anna further back as a way not to bear the pain but that it was always just floating at the back of their heads. I did feel that both characters did not show enough sadness in their mourning but then again maybe this was their idea of coping with loss. Another thing that I thought was that maybe they knew Anna was alive, that she just needed time apart, thinking that one way or another she would eventually come back. In the very ending of the movie, I finally see Sandro cry which is something he had not done when he initially found out about Anna’s disappearance. I think that in that moment, it sunk into him that maybe she was truly gone. The movie title is translated as Adventure. I think that this was truly an adventure for the characters. They moved around in trying to find Anna and in the process also tried to find and understand themselves.

After I watching Ingmar Bergman’s film, Persona, I was initially quite disturbed with the opening scenes of the film. I thought that this feeling would subside once the plot progressed but the movie just heightened this feeling all the more. I find it difficult to explain what actually happened since I was skeptical how the events played out. It was hard to discern the chronological order of the movie. There were scenes wherein it seemed to be part of a memory but in some cases it seemed to be what was actually going on. Though, it made me wonder if all of this was only happening in their minds (or at least only in Elisabet’s mind) I consider the film as a horror or thriller movie because overall the contents and events that transpired had some eerie vibe into it. The fact that this film contains this vibe made me anticipate for situations that would shock me but some scenes just left me baffled.

As previously mentioned, Persona mostly contained unusual images which was evident already from the beginning.  Though the dynamic of the two main characters made me ponder how the director tried to build and destruct each one’s persona. The names of the characters were Elisabet and Alma. The former was an actress who suddenly did not speak with others but remained to interact with others by doing eye contact and using her body language. She was a patient, which seemed  to be in a psychiatric ward. The latter portrayed as Elisebet’s personal nurse. Instead of staying in the ward, they went to a vacation house where Alma ended up opening up to Elisabet about her past experiences.

Their relationship seemed to be odd, I could not fully grasp how they perceived each other since there were scenes where they were best buddies but later on Alma getting frustrated with her and shouted at her. What confused me was a scene wherein she read a letter that Elisabet wrote for her doctor to get updates. Apparently, according to that letter Alma was the one being studied by them. I started to question was Alma the one who had mental issues or was it both of them. Another scene which further disoriented me was when the husband referred to Alma as Elisabet. From then on, I started to interpret that possibly the two main characters was essentially one person who has an issue with having a split personality. That is why this particular woman turns her persona into either Alma or Elisabet . (That’s just my theory after watching the film.)

It can be implied that this movie requires the audience mental capacity to reflect about the events happening in the film. They have to process and I guess come up with their own interpretations that may be similar to what writers wanted or not. From what I did, pondering about the film despite leaving me feeling disturbed at first helped me understand what happened and get rid of this feeling.