Response To "The Five Obstructions"

In 1967, Jørgen Leth, a Danish filmmaker, created a short film called The Perfect Human. You can view it here: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8341864322805018162&hl=en. The Perfect Human presents a man and a woman, both supposedly “the perfect human,” doing things that humans do, in a white, neverending room while their actions are narrated in a rather poetic fashion.

I loved watching The Perfect Human. I loved how, in the same breath, it simplified and dramatized the daily actions of human beings, and reduced the characters to specimens in order to scrutinize their characteristics and tendencies. I also think that Jørgen Leth did a magnificent job with the artistic aspects of the film: he draws attention to certain concepts by changing the placement and depth of the camera in relation to the characters.

In class, we watched a film by Lars Von Trier and Jørgen Leth entitled The Five Obstructions, which is a response to The Perfect Human. Von Trier decides to pose a challenge for his friend and mentor, Jørgen Leth, by asking him to remake The Perfect Human five times, each with a different “spin,” or obstruction, from Von Trier.

I really enjoyed how Leth and Von Trier obscured and transformed the original piece with their collaboration in The Five Obstructions. In each one, Leth takes parts of the original film and transforms them based on the instructions (obstructions) given to him. In the first obstruction, Leth has to remake the film in Cuba with no shot longer than 12 frames. I thought it was very interesting how the mood of the entire piece was changed due to the different location. The clothes, the décor, and the appearance of the characters was very different than the original film, so it was interesting to make connections between the two. I think Leth succeeded in creating a compelling piece using only 12-frame shots, and although its tone differs from that of the original Perfect Human, I think it proves the universality of the original film’s theme.

The second obstruction had to be filmed in the worst place in the world but not actually show that place, and Leth had to play the role of the man. Leth decides to shoot the film in the red light district of Bombay, with only a translucent backdrop separating him from the impoverished citizens of the city as he jumps around and eats his luxurious meal. For me, this was almost painful to watch; the irony that the everyday actions of the “perfect human” are not attainable by everyone is both disheartening and unsettling.

Because Leth didn’t complete the second obstruction perfectly, Von Trier tells him to either remake the film in any way he chooses or redo the one in Bombay. Leth decides to remake the film in Brussels using split-screen effects. I personally liked this obstruction the least, because it closes the detachment between the people and real life that is found in the other films, and places the characters in realistic situations and even has them talk themselves. I thought this took away from the conceptual nature of the piece.

The 4th obstruction is an animation. I found this one fascinating because it borrowed elements and sections from all of the previous films and combined them in animated form. I think it was aesthetically appealing, but because it was animated it had less of an emotional impact on me.

The fifth film was created by Von Trier but narrated by Leth. I think this brings up a very interesting issue related to art, that of ownership.

The Perfect Human and The Five Obstructions prove that challenging yourself or being challenged by others while making art can be both frustrating and extremely gratifying. It can also allow you to discover solutions that you never knew existed. I think this is an incredibly valuable lesson that should not only be applied to art-making, but to life-living in general.

(SORRY THIS IS SO LONG. Apparently I am unable to write anything "brief")