The Idiots
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about the Danish movie. For the band, see The Idiots (band).
| The Idiots | |
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| Directed by | Lars von Trier |
| Produced by | Vibeke Windeløv |
| Written by | Lars von Trier |
| Starring | Bodil Jørgensen, Jens Albinus, Anne Louise Hassing, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Troels Lyby, Luis Mesonero, Louise Mieritz, Henrik Prip, Knud Romer Jørgensen, Trine Michelsen, Anne-Grethe Bjarup Riis, Paprika Steen |
| Release date(s) | 20 May 1998 (Cannes Film Festival) |
| Running time | 117 min. |
| Language | Danish |
| IMDb profile | |
The Idiots (Danish: Idioterne) is a 1998 Danish film directed by Lars von Trier. It is his first film made in compliance with the Dogme '95 Manifesto, and it is known as Dogme #2.
The film is about an anti-bourgeois group of adults who spend their time seeking their "inner idiot", by releasing their inhibitions and behaving as if mentally retarded in public, hence challenging the establishment. They feel that the society-at-large treats their intelligence uncreatively and unchallengingly; thus, they seek humiliation and degradation.
The Idiots is the second film in von Trier's Golden Heart Trilogy which includes Breaking the Waves (1996) and Dancer in the Dark (2000).
Tagline 1: You're a whole lot dumber than you think.
Tagline 2: A film by idiots, about idiots, for idiots.
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[edit] Plot summary
A group of adults lives in a large house in Denmark and spends most of their time pretending to be mentally retarded in public as a means of finding their "inner idiot". They are met by Karen (Bodil Jørgensen) who at first accidentally and then purposefully falls in with them.
[edit] Awards
- Bodil Awards (1999)
- Won: Best Actress, Bodil Jørgensen
- Won: Best Supporting Actor, Nikolaj Lie Kaas
- Won: Best Supporting Actress, Anne Louise Hassing
- Nominated: Best Film
- Cannes Film Festival (1998)
- Nominated: Golden Palm
- European Film Awards (1998)
- Nominated: European Film Award, Best Screenwriter
- London Film Festival (1998)
- Won: FIPRESCI Prize, Lars von Trier
- Robert Festival (1999)
- Won: Best Actress, Bodil Jørgensen
- Valladolid International Film Festival (1998)
- Nominated: Golden Spike, Lars von Trier
[edit] Confession
The confession of a Dogme 95 film is an idea adapted by Thomas Vinterberg in the first Dogme 95 film: Make a confession if there were things happening on the shoot which are not in accordance with the strict interpretation of the Dogme 95 rules. It is written from the director's point of view. Accordingly, Lars von Trier made the following confession:
In relation to the production of Dogme 2 "The Idiots", I confess:
- To have used a stand-in in one case only (the sexual intercourse scene).
- To have organised payment of cash to the actors for shopping of accessories (food).
- To have intervened with the location (by moving sources of light — candlelight — to achieve exposure).
- To have been aware of the fact that the production had entered into an agreement of leasing a car (without the knowledge of the involved actor).
All in all, and apart from the above, I feel to have lived up to the intentions and rules of the manifesto: Dogme95.
[edit] Banned
Due to its explicit sexual content in the sexual intercourse scene, the film was banned in Ireland. It is an adult-only movie in Argentina, Australia (though it has been shown uncut on TV with an MA rating), Chile, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, Spain, the United States, and the UK. In Switzerland and Germany, the movie ran uncut with a 16-years rating in the theaters, but for TV broadcast the orgy is omitted.
[edit] External links
- Idioterne at the Internet Movie Database
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
