The Five Obstructions
2003•1h 30m•7.0•Released
Documentary
In 1967, experimental filmmaker Jorgen Leth created a striking short film, The Perfect Human, starring a man and women sitting in a box while a narrator poses questions about their relationship and humanity. Years later, Danish director Lars von Trier made a deal with Leth to remake his film five times, each under a different set of circumstances and with von Trier's strictly prescribed rules. As Leth completes each challenge, von Trier creates increasingly further elaborate stipulations.
Director
Jørgen Leth
Writer
Lars von Trier, Asger Leth, Jørgen Leth
Revenue
$0M
Languages
Danish, English, French
Studio
Panic Productions
Cast
Jørgen Leth
Voice-over (from Det perfekte menneske) / Self - Director / +
Lars von Trier
Self / Obstructor (segment "The Conversations")
Claus Nissen
The Perfect Man (from Det perfekte menneske) (archive footage)
Majken Algren Nielsen
The Perfect Woman (from Det perfekte menneske) (archive footage)
Daniel Hernandez Rodriguez
The Perfect Man (segment "Cuba")
Jacqueline Arenal
The Perfect Woman (segment "Cuba")
Vivian Rosa
(segment "Cuba")
Patrick Bauchau
The Perfect Man / Voice-over (Brussels) / Speaker (Cartoon)
Alexandra Vandernoot
The Perfect Woman (segment "Brussels")
Marie Dejaer
Maid (segment "Brussels")
Pascal Perez
Couple (Man) (segment "Brussels")
Meschell Perez
Couple (Woman) (segment "Brussels")
Bent Christensen
Gangster (from Det gode og det onde) (segment "Cartoon")
Anders Hove
Naked Man (from Notater om kærligheden) ( segment "Cartoon")
Charlotte Sieling
Naked Woman (from Notater om kærligheden) ( segment "Cartoon")
Production
Company
Panic Productions
Company
Wajnbrosse Productions
Company
Almaz Film Productions
Company
Zentropa Entertainments
Producer
Carsten Holst
Producer
Anders Jacobsen
Recommended
6.8
Obi-Wan Kenobi: A Jedi's Return
2022
7.2
Waking Sleeping Beauty
2009
6.2
Seduced and Abandoned
2013
7.8
Being James Bond
2021
7.5
Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story
2025
6.8
Spider-Man: All Roads Lead to No Way Home
2022
7.8
Blackfish
2013
6.9
Human Flow
2017
7.3
180° South
2010
6.5
Heart of a Dog
2015
7
Marvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
2022
7.1
Marvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Hawkeye
2022
6.3
Marvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
2023
7.1
Marvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Eternals
2022
7.5
Frank and Ollie
1995
7.1
The Class of ‘92
2013
7.5
HyperNormalisation
2016
7.4
The Last Repair Shop
2024
7.1
End Game
2018
6.8
The War Room
1993
Similar Movies
Brise-glace : Bateau givre
1987
6.8
Not Quite Hollywood
2008
6
Chinese Viola
1975
Poisons
1964
Puenting (Leap of Faith)
2019
8.5
Other Men's Careers
2023
7
All You Zombies: Bringing 'Predestination' to Life
2015
6.4
King Cohen: The Wild World of Filmmaker Larry Cohen
2018
Rapids Ahead/Bear Country
1960
Joseph Cornell: Worlds in a Box
1991
7.2
QT8: The First Eight
2019
8.4
Image Makers: The Adventures of America's Pioneer Cinematographers
2019
5.8
Congo
1972
7.8
Hitchcock, Selznick and the End of Hollywood
1999
7.8
Man with a Movie Camera
1929
7.2
Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films
2014
7.5
We Were Once Kids
2021
Pride
2021
7.5
Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki
2017
7.3
Fritz Lang, le cercle du destin - Les films allemands
2004