Idioterne (1998)

Writer:

Lars von Trier (writer)

Release Date:

20 May 1998 (Belgium)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Society is the mother of all Idiots

Plot:

The group of people gather at the house in Copenhagen suburb to break all the limitations and to bring out the "inner idiot" in themselves.

Plot Keywords:

Cult | Community | Group Sex | Male Frontal Nudity | Mental Illness

Awards:

5 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Bodil Jørgensen	...	Karen
Jens Albinus	...	Stoffer
Anne Louise Hassing	...	Susanne
Troels Lyby	...	Henrik
Nikolaj Lie Kaas	...	Jeppe
Louise Mieritz	...	Josephine
Henrik Prip	...	Ped
Luis Mesonero	...	Miguel
Knud Romer Jørgensen	...	Axel
Trine Michelsen	...	Nana
Anne-Grethe Bjarup Riis	...	Katrine
Paprika Steen	...	High Class Lady
Erik Wedersøe	...	Stoffer's Uncle
Michael Moritzen	...	Man From Municipality
Anders Hove	...	Josephine's Father

Also Known As:

Dogma 2: 'The Idiots' (International: English title) (complete title)
Dogma 95 - Idioterne
Dogme # 2 - Idioterne (Denmark) (series title)
Dogme 2 (Denmark)
Idioterna (Sweden)
Idioti (Italy)
Les idiots (France)
The Idiots (International: English title)
Los idiotas (Argentina) (Spain) [es]
Os Idiotas (Brazil) (Portugal) [pt]
Идиоты (Russia) [ru]
Idioci (Poland) [pl]
Idiootit (Finland) [fi]
Idioten (Germany) [de]
Les idiots (Canada: French title) [fr]
Oi ilithioi (Greece) [el]

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexuality and nudity, and for language.

Runtime:

117 min | South Korea:110 min (cut)

Country:

Denmark | Sweden | France | Netherlands | Italy

Language:

Danish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:14 | Iceland:16 (video rating) | France:-12 (original rating) | Singapore:R(A) (cut) | Canada:18A (Canadian Home Video rating) | Argentina:18 | Australia:R | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:III | Ireland:(Banned) | Italy:T (cut) | Italy:VM14 | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:18 | Portugal:M/16 | South Korea:(Banned) (original rating) | South Korea:18 (re-rating) (cut) | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:18 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:18 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18 | USA:R (cut)

Filming Locations:

Søllerød, Sjælland, Denmark

Company:

Zentropa Entertainments

Trivia:

Part of the Canon of Danish Art and Culture.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: This is a film that adheres to the 'Dogme 95' manifesto, so the usual goof rules do not necessarily apply. This includes shots of the crew, microphones and other equipment, as well as continuity errors.

Quotes:

[Susanne puts a "spastic" Ped behind the van's steering wheel]
Guide at Factory: Who... is he driving?
Susanne: Responsibility does them good.
[Ped drives off recklessly]

Movie Connections:

Featured in Lars from 1-10 (1998)

Soundtrack:

Vi Er Dem De Andre Ikke Må lege Med

overlong, no-holds-barred satire fails as social criticism

This unconventional satire by Danish mastermind Lars von Trier is the second film that conforms entirely to a 1995 pamphlet issued by von Trier and several other filmmakers that declares special effects, costumes and elaborate camera perspectives obsolete, in order to achieve the highest possible degree of immediacy in the filmmaking process. Story concerns a group of people, who live in a villa in a small Danish town pretending to be mentally retarded. They mock at society, try to make money out of everything and generally enjoy themselves when they can do what they like. The point of the film may be social criticism, but it takes far too long to get there, and without an apparent structure in the script, this soon becomes tedious. Film has its moments, is well-acted and sometimes even hilarious, but also unpleasasant and disturbing at some points. No touch of genius here, a major disappointment from the director of such masterpieces as THE ELEMENT OF CRIME, MEDEA, EUROPA, RIGET and BREAKING THE WAVES.