Film

 Five Obstructions (2004) by Jorgen Leth & Lars von Trier

• What are the precise rules of each of the obstructions?

1. 12 frames, answers to the question asked in the film “perfect human”, in Cuba, no set.
2. In the most miserable place in the world, not showing it, Jorgen Leth is the “perfect man”, having the meal.
3. Complete freedom or back to Bombay.
4. A cartoon.
5. Lars Von Trier will make the last obstruction, and Jorgen Leth will be credited as director, reading a narration script written by Lars Von Trier.

• How does Jorgen cope with the obstructions?

1. Jorgen found dancers in Cuba, shooting the scene of smoking, dancing with music, and using many approaches like jump cuts, spending a very short time to each scene, so that the various scenes are quickly interspersed together. He also uses written text to flash in the film.
2. He found a street in Bombay, which is full of people, chaos, and noise. He dressed formally and used white to lay out the table and items, with the dish right in the middle of the table, and he laid out a transparent but fuzzy board behind, isolating the hungry-looking children. The subject of the shot contrasts with the background behind it, strengthening the misery of this place.
3. He shot random things like chairs at the beginning, then used juxtaposition to focus on a man’s daily life, and his meeting with the “perfect woman”.
4. He collaborated with animators. In the film, he used the form of a dividing area which appeared in the comic, and also increase the color of the scenes to be more obvious and prominent, making the film richer and more imaginative.
5. He challenged himself to read the narration with emotion, which he had never done in his film.

• What is the effect on the movies he produces? & Other thoughts crossing your mind while watching.

In the first film clip, I felt a kind of fragmentation, because most of the clips lasted for a short time and the film was rich in content, so it gave a novel experience.
In the second film, I felt a strong contrast between the man in front who was dressed formally, eating, and the group of children behind and segregated who were watching him eat. It really expressed a feeling of misery.
In the third film, I feel the different and opposite aspects of one’s daily life in the juxtaposition. And the self-introduce, which is repeated but simple from the “perfect woman”, is very fresh to me.
In the fourth film, I was immersed in the smooth cartoon animation and attracted by the vivid colors. The various transitions used and the splicing of different scenes are imaginative and characteristic.
In the fifth film, the visual nature of the film is weakened and the narration seems to become the main subject. I could also feel the author’s emotions from the changing tones of the narrator.
The film uses many forms of expression on the same theme, with creative and unexpected results, and I learned how these forms of expression can bring different feelings to the audience.