Review of The Element of Crime (1984) by Zack B — 29 Sep 2012

The tone of the film is perfectly established by the haunting sepia shades, the claustrophobic and nightmarish sets, the inexplicable plot line, and the grumbling voice over by Michael Elphick. Lars Von Trier's first film offers us a fascinating glimpse into an expressionistic style of film making that would come to morph and evolve even more.

It's stunning for a debut film and I was taken aback by the mastery of the technological aspects of it, but was underwhelmed by the actual story. It's a film more about mood than anything else, and I suppose that's good in some ways, but if the story is incomprehensible, then this mood is nothing more than an instigator of emotion, rather than a hook to grab you in and allow you to truly examine what is going on.

Von Trier, of course, is the master of provocation, but in other films, he has been clearer, more visceral. His characters have been more compelling, like Emily Watson in Breaking the Waves, the couple in Antichrist, or Kirsten Dunst in Melancholia.

I make it sound like creating a film that's dreamlike or bizarre is a bad thing, and of course it's not. It's just, it seemed more of a showing of style, and that can lead to disconnecting with a film.