Others

Lars Von Trier: The Idiots

Suddhasanta Nag

Spent an euphoric afternoon watching “The Idiots”. It is not just a film but an unbelievable dismantling of every accepted notion of screen performance. Von Trier consistently presents the idea of an outsider assimilating within the folds of a close knit structure, defying the codes of perspective by liquidating the very concept of a reference point in all his films. however, this particular film, part of the Golden Heart trilogy is a complete letting go of every
preconceived idea. the actors are reduced to characters and the characters are reduced to actions, or should i say “gestus”,not a passive act but an active spurge . LVT is to film what Brecht was to theatre and both of them mean for me an emancipatory power, a conscious defiance of form, social codes. the film will be remembered for its entirety as well as for the moments where the individuals let go of their individuality and fall into a trance like spass. carrying the echo of Hamlet’s feigning of madness, Von Trier subverts the very margin between sanity and insanity. the world outside the nexus of spassers is the real world of cruelty, dejection, anger and denial while the world within becomes a metaphor of home, a site of Jouissance 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0154421/

Share

About Author

Monami Mukherjee

Monami Mukherjee is an educator and lifelong student of English literature. She studied at Lady Brabourne College and the University of Calcutta, where she completed her MPhil, and has 21+ years of teaching experience. Her interests include Feminism, Post-colonialism and Modernism, and through NibblePop and its YouTube channel she breaks complex texts down into simple, relatable ideas. Read more

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published.