Review of The Five Obstructions (2003) by Tom C — 07 Jan 2010

It was interesting to see how Lars von Trier tried to punish his idol, and some of these obstructions are quite entertaining. The main problem I have with this film is the sort of preachy ending. The message of the film and the challenges get muddled a bit and it makes it seem that von Trier was just doing all this to put his name on something that was bigger than him and his works.

Interesting, for sure, but also pretentious. I'm sure there's a noted backstory to this, a flailing old-school avant-garde director and a new school guy going head to head. This film does not portray those same interesting tidbits, and it bares a huge question, "Was the original Perfect Human that great to begin with?".