The Five Obstructions (De fem benspænd)
In 1967, Jørgen Leth made The Perfect Man, a favourite film of Lars von Trier. 33 years later, von Trier sets his friend Leth a challenge: to remake the film five times, each time according to a different set of stipulations laid down by von Trier. One remake is to consist of only 12 frame shots, another is to be shot in the most difficult location on earth. A marvellous contest of aesthetic wills ensues. The point is to demonstrate that art always emerges out of restrictive contexts, and that the measure of aesthetic achievement is the way that the artist responds to these obstructions. The project casts von Trier's dogme principles in a new light - not as absolute strictures on film as a medium, but rather as playful responses to the overblown mixture of technique and ego which we call contemporary cinema.
Karoline Leth will be a guest of the Festival
Reviews
“Lars von Trier, the giggling charlatan-talent of arthouse cinema, has made the most interesting film of his recent career.”
Peter Bradshaw, Guardian
“Outrageous genius.”
Jamie Russell, BBC Films
“A playfully profound work that will leave you smiling warmly.”
Movie Gazette
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Meet The Filmmaker Session
Facilitated by the Australian Film Television & Radio School, there will be the opportunity to talk with Karoline Leth (Denmark) in a Q&A session in the cinema immediately following the screening of this on Friday 25 February at 8.45 PM at Mercury Cinema
When
5:00 PM Wednesday, 2 March
Buy Tickets Online
Greater Union - Cinema 2
8:45 PM Friday, 25 February
Buy Tickets Online
Mercury Cinema
Ticket Price
Full price $14
Industry $12
SPU Concession $10
As Part Of
General DocumentariesAbout The Five Obstructions
90 minutes35mm
Dolby SR
In English/Danish/French/Spanish with English subtitles
Print Source
Madman Entertainment
Paul Tonta
pault@madman.com.au
Awards
FIPRESCI, Motovun 2004Festivals
Melbourne International Film Festival 2004Brisbane 2004
Hong Kong International Film Festival 2004
Motovun 2004
Sydney 2004
Toronto 2003
About the Director
Jørgen Leth
Jørgen Leth was born in 1937. He has worked as a director, producer, poet, television commentator and has lectured at the National Film School in Copenhagen, the State Studiocenter in Oslo, and also at Harvard, UCLA, and Berkeley. Leth has been living in Haiti since 1991 where he is the Danish Honorary Consul.
Filmography
The Five Obstructions (2003)New Scenes From America (2003)
Dreamers (2002)
I Am Alive (1999)
Haiti (1996)
Michael Laudrup: A Football Player (1993)
Traberg (1992)
Danish Literature (1989)
Notes on Love (1989)
Composer Meets Quartet (1987)
Moments of Play (1986)
Notebook from China (1986)
Pelota (1984)
Haiti Express (1983)
66 Scenes From America (1982)
Step on Silence (1982)
Dancing Bournonville (1979)
Kalule (1979)
A Midsummer's Play (1979)
Peter Martins: A Dancer (1978)
A Sunday in Hell (1976)
Good and Evil (1975)
Klaus Rifbjerg (1974)
The Stars and the Water Carriers (1974)
The Impossible Hour (1974)
Chinese Ping-Pong (1972)
Life in Denmark (1971)
The Deer Garden: The Romantic Forest (1970)
The Search (1970)
Motion Picture (1970)
Teatret i de grønne bjerge (1970)
Without Kin (1970)
The Deer Garden (1969)
Jens Otto Krag (1969)
Near Heaven, Near Earth (1968)
Ophelia's Flowers (1968)
The Perfect Human (1967)
Look Forward to a Time of Security (1964)
Stop for Bud (1963)
Lars von Trier
Lars von Trier was born in 1956 in Copenhagen. He studied filmmaking at the Copenhagen Film School in the 1980s before raising enough money to make his feature film debut with The Element of Crime.
Filmography
The Five Obstructions (2003)Dogville (2003)
D-dag - Den færdige film (2001)
Dancer in the Dark (2000)
The Idiots (1998)
The Kingdom II (1997)
Breaking the Waves (1996)
The Kingdom (1994)
Zentropa (1991)
Epidemic (1988)
Element of Crime (1984)