''The Idiots'' ( da, Idioterne) is a 1998 Danish

black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

film written and directed by

Lars von Trier Lars von Trier (''né'' Trier; 30 April 1956) is a Danish filmmaker, actor, and lyricist. Having garnered a reputation as a highly ambitious, polarizing filmmaker, he has been the subject of several controversies: Cannes, in addition to nominat ...

. It is his first film made in compliance with the Dogme 95 Manifesto, and is also known as Dogme #2. It is the second film in von Trier's ''

Golden Heart Trilogy The Golden Heart trilogy ( da, Guldhjerte-trilogien) is three films by the Danish screenwriter and director Lars von Trier. It consists of ''Breaking the Waves'' (1996), a melodrama about sex and religion; ''The Idiots'' (1998), a Dogme 95 film de ...

'', preceded by ''

Breaking the Waves ''Breaking the Waves'' is a 1996 psychological drama film directed and co-written by Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier and starring English stage actress Emily Watson as her feature film acting debut. Set in the Scottish Highlands in the early 197 ...

'' (1996) and succeeded by ''

Dancer in the Dark ''Dancer in the Dark'' is a 2000 musical drama film written and directed by Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier. It stars Icelandic musician Björk as a factory worker who suffers from a degenerative eye condition and is saving for an operation to p ...

'' (2000). It is among the first films to be shot entirely with digital cameras. It was screened at the

1998 Cannes Film Festival The 51st Cannes Film Festival was held from 13 to 24 May 1998. American director, producer, screenwriter, and film historian Martin Scorsese was the Jury President. The Palme d'Or went to the Greek film '' Mia aioniotita kai mia mera'' by Theo A ...

and was nominated for the

Palme d’Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...

, despite being met with widespread criticism upon release.

Plot

A seemingly anti-

bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...

group of adults spend their time seeking their "inner

idiot An idiot, in modern use, is a stupid or foolish person. 'Idiot' was formerly a technical term in legal and psychiatric contexts for some kinds of profound intellectual disability where the mental age is two years or less, and the person cannot ...

" to release their inhibitions. They do so by behaving in public as if they were

mentally disabled Developmental disability is a diverse group of chronic conditions, comprising mental or physical impairments that arise before adulthood. Developmental disabilities cause individuals living with them many difficulties in certain areas of life, espe ...

. At a restaurant, the patrons are disturbed by the group's antics, which are barely contained by their supposed "handler", Susanne. The group refers to this behavior as "spassing", a

neologism A neologism Greek νέο- ''néo''(="new") and λόγος /''lógos'' meaning "speech, utterance"] is a relatively recent or isolated term, word, or phrase that may be in the process of entering common use, but that has not been fully accepted int ...

derived from "spasser", the Danish equivalent of " Spastic (word), spaz". Unaware that the group is pretending, Karen, a single diner, is initially sympathetic to what she believes are their genuine disabilities. One of the group members holds her hand, compelling her to go along with them in a taxi. During the ride, she discovers their act, leading to a mix of discomfort and curiosity. Upon arriving at a large house, she learns that Stoffer, the apparent leader of the group, is supposed to be selling the property (which belongs to his uncle), but instead, it becomes the focal point for the group's activities. The "spassing" is a self-defeating attempt by the group to challenge the establishment through provocation. The self-styled idiots feel that the society-at-large treats their intelligence uncreatively and unchallengingly; thus, they seek the uninhibited self-expression that they imagine a romantic ideal of disability will allow. Stoffer, at his birthday party, wishes for a " gangbang", so the group members have group sex (without participation of Karen). Then, when Stoffer calls for the group members to let idiocy invade their personal daily lives; most of the members refuse to take up the challenge and decide to leave the group, leading the group to be dissolved. But Karen decides to take up the challenge. Karen takes Susanne back to her house, where they are greeted with surprise by Karen's mother. Karen has been missing for two weeks, following the death of her young baby; she offers no explanation of where she has been. Karen attempts to spaz in front of her family by dribbling her food, but this results in a violent slap from her husband, Anders. Karen and Susanne leave the house together.

Cast

Bodil Jørgensen Bodil Jørgensen (born 3 March 1961) is a Danish film actress. She has appeared in 40 films since 1992. She starred in ''The Idiots'', which was entered into the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. On 18 June 2014, Jørgensen was severely injured while s ...

as Karen *

Jens Albinus Jens Albinus (born 3 January 1965 in Bogense) is a Danish actor and director.''Usikker på indersiden. Interview: Jens Albinus'' Jyllands-Posten, 16 December 2005, Must, Side 28 Selected filmography * ''Anton'' (1996) – as Lærer, a teacher ...

as Stoffer *

Anne Louise Hassing Anne Louise Hassing (born 17 September 1967) is a Danish actress. She is best known for her roles in the films ''Pain of Love'' (1992) and ''The Idiots'' (1998). Career Anne Louise Hassing was born in Horsens, Denmark, on 17 September 1967. ...

as Susanne *

Troels Lyby Troels Lyby (born 15 October 1966) is a Danish actor. He made his big break in Hella Joof's film '' En kort en lang'', but had previously acted in '' Let's Get Lost'' by Jonas Elmer and Lars von Trier's ''The Idiots''. Since then, he has been ...

as Henrik *

Nikolaj Lie Kaas Nikolaj Lie Kaas (; born 22 May 1973) is a Danish actor whose career rose in the 1990s. Kaas graduated from the National Theater School in Denmark in 1998. He first appeared on screen in Søren Kragh-Jacobsen's film ''The Boys from St. Petri'' i ...

as Jeppe *

Louise Mieritz Louise Mieritz (born 30 April 1971 in Århus) is a Danish actress, best known for her roles in the Dogme 95 films ''The Idiots'' and '. Partial filmography * ''The Idiots'' (1998) * ' (2003) * ' (2004) * ''Anklaget'' (2005) * ' (2005) * ''The ...

as Josephine *

Henrik Prip Henrik Prip (born 31 March 1960) is a Danish actor. He appeared in more than sixty films since 1994. Selected filmography Henrik Prip References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Prip, Henrik 1960 births Living people Danish male ...

as Ped * Luis Mesonero as Miguel * Knud Romer Jørgensen as Axel *

Trine Michelsen Katrine Michelsen (21 January 1966 – 17 January 2009) was a Danish model and actress. Career Michelsen's first role as an actress was a small role in ''Cyklen'', a project film at the Danish film academy. Shortly after school she got a role ...

as Nana * Anne-Grethe Bjarup Riis as Katrine *

Paprika Steen Kirstine "Paprika" Steen (born 3 November 1964) is a Danish actress and director best known for her performances in Dogme 95 films ''Festen'', ''The Idiots'', Mifune, and ''Open Hearts''. Steen was the first Danish actress since Karin Nellemose ...

as High-class lady *

Erik Wedersøe Erik Wedersøe (18 July 1938 – 27 September 2011) was a Danish actor, director and author. Among his most famous roles are the psychiatrist "Pigernes Ole" in Lars von Trier's Riget II and Ulf Thomsen in the Emmy awarded (2002) Danish televisio ...

as Stoffer's uncle * Michael Moritzen as Man From Municipality * Anders Hove as Josephine's father *

(''uncredited voice'') as Interviewer

Production

''The Idiots'' is a co-production of companies from

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. It was filmed during May and June 1997. The script was written over just four days, between 16-19 May.

Style

The confession of a

Dogme 95 Dogme 95 is a 1995 avant-garde filmmaking movement founded by the Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg, who created the "Dogme 95 Manifesto" and the "Vows of Chastity" ( da, kyskhedsløfter). These were rules to create films ba ...

film is an idea adapted by

Thomas Vinterberg Thomas Vinterberg (; born 19 May 1969) is a Danish film director who, along with Lars von Trier, co-founded the Dogme 95 movement in filmmaking, which established rules for simplifying movie production. He is best known for the films ''The Celeb ...

in the first Dogme 95 film: Make a confession if there were things happening on the shoot which are not in accordance with the strict interpretation of the Dogme 95 rules. It is written from the director's point of view. Accordingly, von Trier made the following confession:

In relation to the production of Dogme 2 "''The Idiots''", I confess: * To have used a
stand-in A stand-in for film and television is a person who substitutes for the actor before filming, for technical purposes such as lighting and camera setup. Stand-ins are helpful in the initial processes of film and television production. Stand-ins a ...
in one case only (the
sexual intercourse Sexual intercourse (or coitus or copulation) is a sexual activity typically involving the insertion and thrusting of the penis into the vagina for sexual pleasure or reproduction.Sexual intercourse most commonly means penile–vaginal penetrat ...
scene). * To have organised payment of cash to the actors for shopping of accessories (food). * To have intervened with the location (by moving sources of light – candlelight – to achieve exposure). * To have been aware of the fact that the production had entered into an agreement of leasing a car (without the knowledge of the involved actor). All in all, and apart from the above, I feel to have lived up to the intentions and rules of the manifesto: Dogme95.

In order to not violate Dogme 95 rule 2, forbidding the use of non-

diegetic Diegesis (; from the Greek from , "to narrate") is a style of fiction storytelling that presents an interior view of a world in which: # Details about the world itself and the experiences of its characters are revealed explicitly through narra ...

music, a harmonica player was recorded during the shooting of some scenes, including the end credits, even if he is not seen onscreen.

Release

''The Idiots'' provoked a storm of publicity and debates, one of which was about the fictional representation of disability. Film critic

Mark Kermode Mark James Patrick Kermode (, ; ; born 2 July 1963) is an English film critic, musician, radio presenter, television presenter and podcaster. He is the chief film critic for ''The Observer'', contributes to the magazine ''Sight & Sound'', prese ...

's reaction was to shout "Il est merde! Il est merde! (sic)" from the back of the auditorium during the official screening of the film at Cannes, a spontaneous review for which he was ejected from the venue.

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

aired the film unedited in 2005 as part of the channel's "Banned" season exploring censorship and cinematic works. Viewer complaints prompted an

Ofcom The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-ranging powers acros ...

investigation, which came out in favour of Channel 4. In its ruling, Ofcom found the film "not in breach" of the relevant Code under the specific circumstances of the broadcast, that is "the serious contextualisation of the film within a season examining the censorship of film and television, its artistic purpose, the channel which transmitted it, the strong warnings before the film and prior to the scene in question and the scheduling after midnight". Ofcom added the caveat that "while we do not consider the film was in breach of the Code on this occasion, we must consider carefully the acceptability of any similar content on an individual basis". The film is classified as adult-only in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

(though it has been shown uncut on TV with an MA rating),

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

, and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. In

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, the film ran uncut with a 16-years rating in theaters, followed by a DVD release with the same rating and several uncut television airings. Following their acquisition of 11 of Von Trier’s films,

Mubi Mubi (; stylized as MUBI; The Auteurs before 2010) is a global curated film streaming platform, production company and film distributor. Mubi produces and theatrically distributes films by emerging and established filmmakers, which are exclusivel ...

will theatrically release a 4K restoration of the film on June 16, 2023 in celebration of its 25th anniversary.

Reception

Critical reception

On the

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film has a 72% score based on 32 reviews, with an average rating of 6.5/10. The website's consensus reads, "''The Idiots'' feels more like an experiment than a coherent narrative, but director Lars von Trier's provocative style and rumination on civilization will leave most audience members feeling like satisfied test subjects".

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

reports a 47 out of 100 rating based on 15 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Reactions to the film ranged from strong criticism to strong praise.

A.O. Scott Anthony Oliver Scott (born July 10, 1966) is an American journalist and cultural critic. He has been chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' since 2004, a title he shares with Manohla Dargis. Early life Scott was born on July 10, 1966 in ...

wrote a critical review in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', calling the film "a two-hour, semi-pornographic Mentos commercial" and singled out the final scene in particular for strong criticism, stating that the film "descends to truly contemptible emotional brutality". Conversely,

Owen Glieberman Owen Gleiberman (born February 24, 1959) is an American film critic who has been chief film critic for ''Variety'' magazine since May 2016, a title he shares with . Previously, Gleiberman wrote for ''Entertainment Weekly'' from 1990 until 2014. ...

in ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

''described the film as "a raw, funny, maddening ramble" where von Trier "seeks catharsis by pushing everything to extremes" and described the final scene as "a gripping moment of high torment". ''The Idiots'' was ranked #76 in ''

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

'' magazine's "The 100 Best Films of World Cinema" in 2010. The magazine had previously given it a full five star rating on its release in UK cinemas. It is listed as #941 in the film reference book '1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die'.

Sexually explicit scenes

More controversy arose over the sexual content, which was unusually explicit for a narrative film. ''The Idiots'' contains a shower scene in which a member of the group (in character as an "idiot") has an

erection An erection (clinically: penile erection or penile tumescence) is a physiological phenomenon in which the penis becomes firm, engorged, and enlarged. Penile erection is the result of a complex interaction of psychological, neural, vascular, ...

and, later, a

group sex Group sex is sexual behavior involving more than two participants. Participants in group sex can be of any sexual orientation or gender. Any form of sexual activity can be adopted to involve more than two participants, but some forms have their ...

scene that includes one couple (faces not seen, stand-ins from the porn industry) having unsimulated penetrative (vaginal) sexual intercourse. Both instances of explicit content are in view only for a few seconds. The film was cleared for

theatrical Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...

release by the

British Board of Film Classification The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, previously the British Board of Film Censors) is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of f ...

, receiving an 18 certificate. When it was shown on

Film4 Film4 is a British free-to-air television network owned by Channel Four Television Corporation launched on 1 November 1998, devoted to broadcasting films. While its standard-definition channel is available on Freeview and Freesat platforms, it ...

(then ''FilmFour'') in 2000, the erection and the intercourse were obscured by

pixelization Pixelization (British English, pixelisation) or mosaic processing is any technique used in editing images or video, whereby an image is blurred by displaying part or all of it at a markedly lower Image resolution, resolution. It is primarily u ...

, following an order from the

Independent Television Commission The Independent Television Commission (ITC) licensed and regulated commercial television services in the United Kingdom (except S4C in Wales) between 1 January 1991 and 28 December 2003. History The creation of ITC, by the Broadcasting Act ...

Accolades

The film was shown in competition at the

. *

Bodil Awards The Bodil Awards are the major Danish film awards given by the Danish Film Critics Association. The awards are presented annually at a ceremony in Copenhagen. Established in 1948, it is one of the oldest film awards in Europe. The awards are given ...

(1999) ** Won: Best Actress, Bodil Jørgensen ** Won: Best Supporting Actor, Nikolaj Lie Kaas ** Won: Best Supporting Actress, Anne Louise Hassing ** Nominated: Best Film *

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

(1998) ** Nominated: ''

Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...

'' *

European Film Awards The European Film Awards (or European Film Academy Awards) have been presented annually since 1988 by the European Film Academy to recognize excellence in European cinematic achievements. The awards are given in 19 categories, of which the most ...

(1998) ** Nominated: European Film Award, Best Screenwriter *

London Film Festival The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival founded in 1957 and held in the United Kingdom, running for two weeks in October with co-operation from the British Film Institute. It screens more than 300 films, documentaries and shor ...

(1998) ** Won:

FIPRESCI The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for Fédération Internationale de la PRESse CInématographique) is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world fo ...

Prize, Lars von Trier * Robert Festival (1999) ** Won: Best Actress, Bodil Jørgensen *

Valladolid International Film Festival The Valladolid International Film Festival, popularly known as Seminci (short for ; ), is a film festival held annually in Valladolid, Spain. First held in 1956 as ('Valladolid Religious Film Week'), the Seminci is one of the longest-standing fi ...

(1998) ** Nominated: Golden Spike, Lars von Trier

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Idiots, The 1998 films 1990s Danish-language films 1998 comedy-drama films Danish avant-garde and experimental films Danish comedy-drama films Danish independent films French avant-garde and experimental films French comedy-drama films French independent films Dutch avant-garde and experimental films Dutch comedy-drama films Dutch independent films Italian comedy-drama films Italian independent films Spanish avant-garde and experimental films Spanish comedy-drama films Spanish independent films Swedish avant-garde and experimental films Swedish comedy-drama films Swedish independent films Camcorder films Danish Culture Canon Dogme 95 films Scanbox Entertainment films Films directed by Lars von Trier Films set in Denmark Films shot in Denmark Films about disability 1990s avant-garde and experimental films 1998 independent films 1990s French films 1990s Swedish films Danish black comedy films Swedish black comedy films 1998 black comedy films