The Element of Crime
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| The Element of Crime | |
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| Directed by | Lars von Trier |
| Produced by | Per Holst |
| Written by | Lars von Trier Niels Vørsel |
| Starring | Michael Elphick Esmond Knight Me Me Lai Jerold Wells |
| Music by | Bo Holten |
| Cinematography | Tom Elling |
| Distributed by | Kærne Film |
| Release date(s) |  May 14, 1984 May 1, 1987 |
| Running time | 104 min. |
| Language | English |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
The Element of Crime (Danish: Forbrydelsens element) is the first feature film directed by noted Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier. The film, released in 1984, is also the first in the director's Europa trilogy.
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[edit] Synopsis
The Element of Crime is set in a dystopian, crumbling Europe undergoing social decay. A British detective named Fisher (Michael Elphick) has become an expatriate living in Cairo. Fisher undergoes hypnosis in order to recall his last case, in which he pursued an elusive killer called the "Lotto Murderer", who brutally savaged young girls selling lottery tickets. Fisher had attempted to track down the killer using the controversial methods outlined in a book entitled The Element of Crime, written by his disgraced mentor, Osborne (Esmond Knight). Fisher is joined in his search by a prostitute named Kim (Meme Lai). Fisher's search is based on tailing reports written by Osborne when he was trying to track down a murderer who killed in the same way as the "Lotto Murderer". However, the Osborne method requires the detective to try to identify with the mind of the killer. This Fisher does, but in so doing begins to behave like a serial killer himself.
[edit] Style
The film is shot almost entirely in yellow lighting, making the images reminiscent of sepia tone, but with a more intense yellow. This effect was created by shooting the scenes in very powerful sodium light which erased all colours except yellow.[citation needed] The sepia is occasionally contrasted with piercing blues or greens. It always seems to be night in the film's world, and water is ubiquitous. All of these elements, along with its crime film subject matter, connect the film to the genre of film noir.
The world depicted in the film is semi-derelict. Disordered collections of similar or identical object are found in many of the scenes, reinforce the sense of a crumbling society. Examples include heaps of keys, surgical scissors, bottles, rubber stamps and Coca-Cola cans.
The film's slow pace, dark visuals occasional surreal imagery give it a dreamlike quality. In addition, much of the dialogue and is contradictory. An example is one conversation between Fisher and his mentor's housekeeper:
- Fisher: Is it always as dark as this at this time of year?
- Housekeeper: There are no seasons any more. The last three summers haven't been summers. The weather changes all the time. It never alters.
In the opening of the film, a shot of a horse lying on its back and then slowly struggling to stand may be an homage to a similar shot in Andrei Tarkovsky's Andrei Rublev (1968). Von Trier has stated that he is an admirer of Tarkovsky's work.[citation needed]
[edit] Awards
The Element of Crime received several wards, including a nomination for the Palme d'Or at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival.
[edit] DVD releases
The Element of Crime has been released on DVD in North America by the Criterion Collection. In Europe, a digitally remastered DVD is available as part of the box set Lars von Trier's Europe Trilogy - Hypnotic Edition.
[edit] External link
The Element of Crime • Epidemic • Zentropa • The Kingdom • Breaking the Waves • The Idiots (Dogme 95) • Dancer in the Dark • Dogville • Manderlay • The Boss of It All • Wasington
| Preceded by: W.C. Fields: Six Short Films |
The Criterion Collection 80 |
Succeeded by: Variety Lights |
