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GreenCine Movie Talk
	In The Theaters I just saw it and boy does it...	318

The Five Obstructions
	Topic by: oldkingcole Posted: April 26, 2004 - 4:52 AM PDT Last Reply: April 28, 2004 - 1:04 AM PDT

author	topic: The Five Obstructions
oldkingcole	post #1  on April 26, 2004 - 4:52 AM PDT   I had the unique experience of going to the SF International Film Festival -- kind of on a whim at the last minute -- and seeing two films, one at 6:45 PM and one at Midnight. Within that short span of time, I think I may have seen the best film of the year, and the worst. I'm not going to talk about the worst film, because the less said about it, the better. But the film that is currently holding down the best of the year spot for me is Lars von Trier's "The Five Obstructions." If it gets a non-festival, normal US release, see it. I was a little disappointed with Dogville, von Trier's other recent movie. It wasn't bad, but it didn't knock my socks off either. The Five Obstructions did. It's a delightful thing of beauty -- an examination of art, friendship, and the road to happiness. Probably not what you expect from a Lars von Trier film, but then, von Trier is one of the best filmmakers working today and it's nice that he can surprise us and evade our expectations so successfully. Anyway, I don't want to give anything away about the film except my enthusiasm for it. Go see it. If you've already seen it, I'm curious what you thought of it.
RHorsman	post #2  on April 26, 2004 - 8:35 AM PDT   Ah, go'wan, tell us what the worst one was too.
Gradalis	post #3  on April 26, 2004 - 10:01 AM PDT   If it was 6:45, it would be Saturday (I was at that screening as well, seeing Five Obstructions for the second time). The "midnighter" (to call it out) was Marronnier. Admittedly, I haven't seen it and, on your recommendation, I probably never will! -- Marlow
oldkingcole	post #4  on April 26, 2004 - 12:18 PM PDT   > On April 26, 2004 - 10:01 AM PDT Gradalis wrote: > --------------------------------- > If it was 6:45, it would be Saturday (I was at that screening as well, seeing Five Obstructions for the second time... So if you were seeing The Five Obstructions again, is it safe to assume you liked it?
Gradalis	post #5  on April 26, 2004 - 1:39 PM PDT   ...is it safe to assume you liked it? Absolutely. I caught the press screening at Sundance and coincidently ran into Jorgen Leth on a bus later that afternoon. We had met the previous year when his New Scenes from America played in Park City. As part of our film series at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, I hope to eventually show his original 66 Scenes from America as well as the complete Det Perfekte menneske (only presented in segments during De Fem benspaend, of course). He thought that it was a good idea at the time. I'll have to call and remind him!
Ralsar	post #6  on April 27, 2004 - 4:32 AM PDT   This is reassuring as I was pretty disapointed with Dogville. Glad to hear he is back in form. Can't wait to see The Five Obstructions.
Gradalis	post #7  on April 27, 2004 - 11:08 AM PDT   Can't wait to see The Five Obstructions. Thankfully, you'll get your chance starting in late-May (and ideally coming to a theater near you shortly thereafter).
Ralsar	post #8  on April 27, 2004 - 6:17 PM PDT   That's great. I'm pretty sure I'll get it here in Denver. The Denver Film Society does a really great job in keeping me happy :)
dpowers	post #9  on April 28, 2004 - 12:42 AM PDT   marronnier was all over the place and i liked that. what a messy movie! yawn yankwanker oughta see it just to learn to ease up on the ab-so-lute con-trol. well the name is a joke there. i like his stuff. however comparisons between miene-rear and skankmaker's faust are worth contemplating. i'm missing the obstructions. this is it, the last 3 days of the festival are all i'm doing this year. today i saw squint your eyes, man-or-ear, grimm, and ana and the others. squint was a good flick to start with. simple, social, gentle. erroneous was a big fat mess! wa-hoo! connected to squint by having a dress torn off. grimm was just that. kaurismaki-influenced fairy tale that made me remember to recommend lovers of the arctic circle to people. connected to meow-hooray by bear traps. ana was a total surprise. i thought it was central station 2: orphan in the storm but it turned out to be a westernized girl-power kiarostami flick with some rohmer thrown in. i'm very enthusiastic about this one even if it's a little too easy to chew, because i think it talks pretty straight.
dpowers	post #10  on April 28, 2004 - 12:44 AM PDT   oh and ana was connected to grimm by the secondary but plot-critical boy interest "diego" in both.
dpowers	post #11  on April 28, 2004 - 12:49 AM PDT   just like a real aki kaurismaki movie, there are some really really good jokes at the beginning of grimm
dpowers	post #12  on April 28, 2004 - 1:04 AM PDT   okay wait, this is funny. squint (#1) and mal-du-mer (#2) both had a scene where a boy pulls a girl's dress off. man'o'rear (#2) and grimm (#3) both featured bear traps, and legs caught in them. grimm (#3) and ana (#4) both had a romantic diego. AND! ana (#4) and squint (#1) both showed the main character getting a haircut at home! i really thought these movies would be more different