De fem benspænd (2003)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Jørgen Leth

Writers:

Jørgen Leth (2 segments)
Sophie Destin (poem) (segment "The Perfect Human: Brussels")

Release Date:

7 November 2003 (UK)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

About a filmmaker not only revisiting, but also recreating (not in a conventional sense) one of his first films, The Perfect Human / Det perfekte menneske (1967)

Plot Keywords:

Director | Filmmaking | Remake | Experimental Film | Part Animated

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Claus Nissen	...	The Perfect Man - from 'Det perfekte menneske' 1967 (archive footage)
Majken Algren Nielsen	...	The Perfect Woman, from 'Det perfekte menneske' 1967) (archive footage) (as Maiken Algren)
Jørgen Leth	...	Speaker (from "Det perfekte menneske" 1967) / Himself - Director (segments "The Conversations") / Speaker (segment "Obstruction #1 - The Perfect Human: Cuba") / The Perfect Man / Speaker (segment "Obstruction #2 - The Perfect Human: Bombay") / Speaker (segment "Obstruction #4 - The Perfect Human: Cartoon") / Jørgen Leth / The Perfect Human / Speaker (segment "Obstruction #5 - The Perfect Human: Avedøre, Denmark") (also archive footage)
Lars von Trier	...	Himself - Obstructor (segments "The Conversations") / Lars von Trier (segment "Obstruction #5 - The Perfect Human: Avedøre, Denmark")
Daniel Hernandez Rodriguez	...	The Perfect Man (segment "Obstruction #1 - The Perfect Human: Cuba")
Jacqueline Arenal	...	The Perfect Woman (segment "Obstruction #1 - The Perfect Human: Cuba")
Vivian Rosa
Alexandra Vandernoot	...	The Perfect Woman (segment "Obstruction #3 - The Perfect Human: Brussels")
Patrick Bauchau	...	The Perfect Man / Speaker (segment "Obstruction #3 - The Perfect Human: Brussels") / Speaker (segment "Obstruction #4 - The Perfect Human: Cartoon")
Marie Dejaer	...	Maid (segment "Obstruction #3 - The Perfect Human: Brussels")
Pascal Perez	...	Couple (Man) (segment "Obstruction #3 - The Perfect Human: Brussels")
Meschell Perez	...	Couple (Woman) (segment "Obstruction #3 - The Perfect Human: Brussels")
Bent Christensen	...	Gangster from "Det gode og det onde" 1975 featured in segment "Obstruction #4 - The Perfect Human: Cartoon" (archive footage)
Anders Hove	...	Naked Man, from "Notater om kærligheden" 1989 featured in segment "Obstruction #4 - The Perfect Human: Cartoon" (archive footage)
Charlotte Sieling	...	Naked Woman - from "Notater om kærligheden" 1989 featured in segment "Obstruction #4 - The Perfect Human: Cartoon" (archive footage)

Also Known As:

Five Obstructions (France)
The Five Obstructions (International: English title)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

Denmark | Switzerland | Belgium | France

Language:

Danish | English | French | Spanish

Color:

Black and White (archive footage) | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Switzerland:16 (canton of Zurich) | Australia:M | Hungary:14 | Norway:A | Singapore:NC-16 | Spain:13 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:Unrated | Argentina:13

Company:

Almaz Film Productions S.A.

Trivia:

During one of the conversation segments in the documentary Lars von Trier and Jørgen Leth agree that Leth will receive full credit for the fifth and final Obstruction entitled "The Perfect Human: Avedøre, Denmark" despite not directing it, and that Trier will receive none, although he will direct it. This, apparently, is within the rules of the game played out by the two directors during the documentary, and serves as an inside joke.

Movie Connections:

References La collectionneuse (1967)

This is how the perfect human falls

Debuting at the Toronto International Film Festival 2003 The Five Obstructions is a whimsical yet deeply philosophical dialogue between Lars Van Trier and Jørgen Leth, one of Lars Van Trier's director heroes.

The movie is based upon the reconstruction of Leth's 1967 work The Perfect Human ( De Fem benspænd ). This 1967 black and white film is starkly minimalist and humourous detailing a Danish point of view - an analysis of a perfect human and how the perfect human acts and interacts with the world. Within the film are two characters : a man and a woman each shot separately and each probed by the camera. How the perfect human eats. How the perfect human lies down. How he falls. This is the human eye. This is the perfect human's ear, eye, knee.

The Perfect Human is the perfect film.

The dialogue between Leth and Van Trier shot in the year 2001 is humourous and philosophical. Van Trier sets out to challenge Leth by making his recreate The Perfect Human but under Van Trier's terms.

The first obstruction for instance is to have shots with no more than 12 frames each, it has to be shot in Cuba and with no set. The audience laughs as each point of the obstruction is set upon the screen.

The camera crew follows Leth around the world and records his reactions to the challenge and the process of how he sets to film the First Obstructions in Cuba. He finds the concept of 12 frames monumentously crazy. He has to find the perfect humans to cast in the country, a country he has never been to. He comes back to Denmark and they view the result: an exquisite little film which is surprising and beautiful.

The rest of the film poses the rest of the Five Obstructions - each a result of Van Trier's subsequent reactions to the films that Leth brings back.

The conversation between the two is akin to a psychoanalyst and his patient yet the two are friends. There is much laughter and delight and the results of the five obstructions are pristinely beautiful. You also get to see Van Trier's ego at work and the wheels spinning as Leth responds to the challenge. The overall film of The Five Obstructions in itself is a delight and a learning experience that should not be missed.