Customer Reviews

Idioterne [Region 2]

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

TO ANY ONE READING THIS,THE MOVIE IS WORTHWHILE I HAVE A MULTI REGION DVD PLAYER AND GOT MY HANDS ON THE EUROPEAN VERISON(REGION 2) UNCENSORED,THAT VERSION IS WORTH IT. IT GALLS ME THAT WE IN AMERICA WOULD SEEM TO HAVE TO BE PROTECTED FROM SEEING WHAT THE DIRECTORS TRUE VISION OF HIS WORK IS. AGAIN HOPFULLY IT WILL SOME DAY BE RELEASED ON THESE SHORES UNCENSORED. I WILL NOT BUY CENSORED MATERIAL AND I HOPE TRUE MOVIE LOVERS WILL AGREE.

It is a shame that more publicity has been made about the Dogma 95 experiment than about the products they rendered. So try looking beyond the Dogma stamp. The Idiots is an amazing film built upon a complex story and reveals elements of the human condition rarely revealed on the big screen. Von Trier is an expert at creating shocking cinema. Not only is it shocking because it is filmed differently than almost any other film you've seen, but it is also shocking because it is filled with nudity, vulgarity and controversial themes. It makes fun of mentally retarded adults under the guise of a serious social experiment. It has violent fights, an orgy scene... Despite all this, try looking beyond the shocking elements. What you will find beyond all the things that many critics chose not to look past is an emotionally powerful portrayal of a group of individuals searching for a way in which to view their identity in a way that is devoid of all social artifices. It is a story of a people trying to actively live out an idea that there is something essential about their being which can be reached through an extreme modification of their behaviour. It becomes increasingly clear throughout the narrative that these people are running away from who they are rather than finding something essential. The emotional tension that is being withheld slowly rises to the surface and culminates in one of the most devastating scenes I've ever witnessed. It is moving not just because it deals with death, but because it illuminates in an exaggerated fashion the way in which people in society today hide from themselves and subsequently reveal themselves to be frail and insecure. Of course, all of the elements that go into making this such a shocking film are inextricably incorporated into the emotional power created. You need to watch this film while withholding moral judgements and consider the issues that are being so skilfully portrayed in a way no other director was able to do before Dogma 95.

"The Idiots" ("Idioterne") is the controversial 1998 black comedy by Danish director Lars von Trier ("Breaking the Waves," "Zentropa," "The Kingdom) that has been the target of censor boards around the world. Karen (Bodil Jorgensen) finds herself introduced to a group of intelligent, good-looking young adults who live together and led by the charismatic Stoffer (Jens Albinus). They all decide they will provoke a response from the bourgeoisie by going out in public and pretending to be mentally and/or physically disabled.

Their constant efforts to create anarchy in every situation is basically what we would have called guerilla theater back in the Sixties. But the larger question is whether the film itself is part of the attack. The people confronted with these "idiots" are always shocked, angered, disturbed, or at least annoyed. Yet these are reactions the viewing audience can have as well to what they see; "The Idiots" is guerilla theater in the tradition of Andy Kaufman, albeit with sexually explicit scenes thrown in to really keep you guessing as to what is really going on. If you have never seen a truly provocative film, then, yes, I fully expect "The Idiots" might prove to be too much for you to handle.

This film is made under the Dogma banner, which von Trier established in 1995 as a restrictive anti-establishment manifesto requiring filmmakers to avoid the use of props, sets, artificial sound and light, lens filters and superficial action, all while filming with one handheld camera. Lars von Trier won the FIPRESCI Award at the London Film Festival for this film. The citation reads, in part, "For its attempt to rethink film language and social rules from scratch and willingness to accept the limitations of both its method and cultural assumptions." I am not sure the film works as either satire or social criticism simply because it is so outrageous that it can easily be dismissed by the very people you would assume its target audience. Still, you must admit it holds true to the principles of the Dogma manifesto.

Final note: My understanding is that the videotape version distributed in the U.S. does not have anything cut from the film; both versions run 117 minutes. However, black bars are used to cover certain shots in the orgy scene (you should know of what without me having to tell you) in order to avoid a NC-17 rating. Once again it appears we have the irony that the system tries to declaw an artistic effort in the name of profitability.

This is one of the best films that Lars Von Trier (director of Dancer in the Dark, Dogville, and Breaking the Waves) has ever done in my opinion. It is an excellent example of Dogme 95, a pact by several filmmakers (of which Von Trier is arguably the most famous) to create more realism in cinema by restraining what the director can do. It's usually associated what is sometimes considered shaky camera work. [...]

While all of Von Trier's films since have been influenced by his work in this style, most are not strictly Dogme films. Dancer in the Dark for example switches back and forth to heavily stylized scenes and contains what is considered to be "superficial action." The Idiots is an early example of what this genre was meant to look like,

The Idiots is long overdue for a full American release. To the best of my knowledge, the only version ever released here was a censored VHS one. Due to its very graphic sexuality, the company that released it did not leave it uncensored, despite it being a home video item.

The Idiots is one of the better genre-avoiding movies of recent times. Dark comedy slams straight into uncomfortable realism as director Lars von Trier and his dedicated cast commit to celluloide some truly unforgettable set-pieces in a narative that never once tells you how to react to what you are seeing.

Von Trier is once again in top form, building on his already impressive filmography (his epic two-parter 'The Kingdom' was shown in weekly instalments on Australian TV recently; THE best thing around, roll on part III) to tell the story of another female character determined to see to the end of her decisions, however painful the consequences may be for the people around her.

Bravo! to all involved.

Lars Von Trier's THE IDIOTS is the second movie shot according to the rules of DOGMA 95. This chart, signed by Thomas Vinterberg, the author of the masterpiece FESTEN, and Lars Von Trier is the sign of a romantic reaction against today cinema. Vinterberg and Von Trier say no to computer helped movies, no to sound mixing and editing, no to everything that is the trademark of 99% of the movies produced each year.

So, if you make the effort to accept images which are always moving because the camera is placed on the camera operator's shoulder, if you don't mind to have the sound operator appearing sometimes in the middle of a scene with his micro, you are ready to experiment THE IDIOTS. To be honest, I wasn't disturbed at all by the appearance of the microphone in certain scenes because it strangely adds to the documentary atmosphere of the movie. You will also accept as natural and not at all shocking the few sex scenes, not simulated nor censored - at least in the european copies - , of THE IDIOTS.

The main argument of THE IDIOTS is, on the contrary, very disturbing. A dozen of Danish young boys and girls, deceived by the society they are living in, decide to take revenge of this society by creating uncomfortable situations. So, as soon as they are in public places, they are pretending they are mental deficient people and don't hesitate to enjoy the multiple advantages this lie can create. If I enjoyed a lot the comic scenes of THE IDIOTS, recognizing the hypocritical attitudes of our society towards its weakest members, I was in the same time ashamed of my lack of respect. And, in my opinion, THE IDIOTS is a very important movie because, unlike the vast majority of the non-Dogma 95 movies, this film will touch your heart and the roots of your morals.

A DVD zone New Cinema.

P.S: Note that I've seen this movie on a zone 2 DVD found at Amazon.fr . Danish version with french subtitles, the ten commandments of the Dogma 95, presentation of the actors and a written interview with Lars Von Trier as bonus features.

Karen stumbles aimlessly around in Copenhagen and she ends up in a classy restaurant where she meets Stoffer who is the self-proclaimed leader for a group of individuals that live by acting as if they were mentally handicapped. The group offers something to Karen to hold onto as she begins to discover her "inner idiot" by acting irresponsibly and immaturely. This behavior causes confusion and disorder around them, which leads to anger, anxiety, and misery. The Idiots begins with several comical situations that leads to distasteful behavior, which will certainly offend most viewers. However, it is the offensive behavior that brings about a daring theme that pushes the envelop as it provides some insights into our Western civilization. This leaves the audience with an interesting cinematic experience that is shot with the Dogma 95 style.

Although not quite as powerful as his more recent Dancer in the Dark, the Idiots achieves a level of provacation that for many people may exceed Dancer. Why? Because it looks like your buddy brought his video camera along on some crazy escapades -- capturing things that not only defy conventional cinema, but behavior that would likely freak most conventional people out in the real world... without resorting to gimmicks of such in-you-face filmmaking such as crime/murder/odd drugs.

But there is more going on here than that. For example, there is a thinly veiled notion expressed by the characters that they are debilitating middle class mores through their actions -- while at the same time all the escapades are explicitly enabled because of middle class society (the home they are house-sitting, the public facilities they invade, the conventiond of respecting the disabled that they exploit).

But neither issue is the point. Whether middle class society is to blame, or makes the story's surroundings possible are not the issues. Rather, the plain pain the protagonist discovers, and her final transformation are at the heart of the film's point, where a question about the nature of sanity (what is sane in an insane world?) is really what one leaves with.

---

That said, beware the American edition of this film (whether in theaters, on VHS, or DVD). It has been censored to acheive the R rating. Acquire a copy of the film from Britain to see the version that no American distributor would touch, due to the frank and un-simulated evocation of the sexuality inherent in this undertaking.

This is a wonderful movie. It's one of the original movies shot in the Dogma tradition and it is directed by one of the founders of the Dogma movement. It is very much a human drama , it plays out somewhat slowly , but completely sucks the viewer into the group experience that is the film, and it has twists and turns that put what you think you know on its head right up to the very end, highly recommended to people who enjoy art films, beautiful films, creme of the crop independent films, not recommended to those seeking fast paced American action films , or films that don't challenge their audience

Theres little this film doesn't have (or show.) Directed by Lars Von Trier under the Dogma 95 vow of chastity (basically a set of guidelines to make the film look as amatuerish as possible) the story follows a group of professional yuppies express their "inner idiots."

The film contains some excellent scenes (such as when the group goes swimming to the local pool) and characters. The best by far is Stoffer, the suave, smooth talking leader who won't let the others quit.

For those who are sick of Hollywood mass produced passive viewing (and there are plently of you out there) and want to watch a bit of exploitation then this is the film for you.