The Five Obstructions

Director Lars von Trier and his mentor J¯rgen Leth go head to head in his entertaining, must-see film about the artistic process. In The Five Obstructions, von Trier impishly challenges his mentor, veteran Danish filmmaker J¯rgen Leth, to create five different remakes of Leth's 1967 short The Perfect Human. But there's a catch: each remake is constrained by a set of "obstructions" that von Trier lays down for Leth (e.g., no shot can last longer than one second). The film increasingly becomes a deadly, playful duel between these two master artists. Not only will this film introduce audiences to the major figure of Leth but it provides great insight into the mind and working methods of von Trier. (90 mins.)