The Idiots (1998)

This Dogme 95 comedy-drama creates a uniquely unsettling experience by rejecting film-making artifice as a group of dropouts pretend to be mentally disabled. It balances uncomfortable content with naturalistic performances and an ultimately liberating message.

The critic relays Knausgaard’s account of how The Idiots influenced his writing with its raw, unadorned style. He notes the film’s Dogme 95 roots and its shift from performance to personal tragedy as a key strength.

The critic finds the film rewards patient viewers, praising how it builds focus on Karen's personal revelation and the group's experiment fostering authentic emotions and bonding. He singles out the tender moments amid the provocative premise.

The review calls the film a disturbing and provocative work that proves von Trier a true original, highlighting its raw, stripped-back Dogma style and the powerfully played final scene. It notes the eccentric thesis may limit it to arthouse audiences.

The film is a fascinating but muddled experiment in Dogma 95 amateurism that pushes boundaries with its social deviance theme. The critic praises its glimmers of genius and guerrilla style but faults the sentimental inner-child message and overly tidy ending.

Von Trier's Dogma 95 film explores performance and social satire through a group pretending to be disabled, proving consistently intriguing despite not fully delivering emotionally or intellectually. It singles out the funny satirical look at how society treats outsiders for praise while noting irritating technical distractions.

The critic finds The Idiots a less satisfactory demonstration of the Dogme manifesto than Festen. He questions whether the film's role-playing commune and anti-authoritarian stance truly force truth from its characters and settings as intended.

The critic finds the film tiresome and puerile, questioning if von Trier achieved real insights into pretending to be disabled or if it lacks coherence. He concludes it's close but no cigar.

The critic views the film as having little substance beyond provoking audience discomfort through its Dogma techniques, likening it to a semi-pornographic commercial. He singles out the group's pointless public antics for complaint while acknowledging the formal rigor of the approach.

The critic finds the premise horribly misguided and the film even worse in practice, as it primarily inspires boredom rather than outrage or fury due to poor pacing, tonal incongruities, and a bloated running time.

The critic calls the film astoundingly bad and evidence that even a restrictive manifesto like Dogma 95 can produce poor results. He singles out the premise of a group living as deliberate idiots, including scenes of boorish behavior, self-criticism, and an orgy with hard-core footage.

The critic finds it one of von Trier’s most provocative and divisive pictures, near the top of his confrontational game despite its uncomfortable premise and content. They single out the brutally funny and excruciatingly uncomfortable results when the pretense invades personal lives, particularly with newcomer Karen.

The review finds no recognisable storyline and criticises the Dogme 95 style for pushing viewers away rather than drawing them in. It singles out Bodil Jorgensen's performance as Karen for praise amid the film's emotional potential being undermined by manipulation and falsehood.