The Five Obstructions

The relationship between Lars Von Trier and Jorgan Leth in The Five Obstructions is curious to me because I didn't picture it the way it happened: Leth looks much more like he would be sending Von Trier on exercises. But that's what emphasizes the friendship between these two smart, creative people.

I was impressed with the editing and pacing of the film itself. Thinking about it, there was a lot of content to fit into even 90 minutes. It was clever to teach the audience about the Perfect Human as the film progressed, so that by the end, it was understood in full. It did leave me to wonder if Leth was recreating the Perfect Human each time in its entirety. (I can only assume that he did. I'd be interested to see all those complete versions.)

Overall, the story is that of the occasion to rise to. It was interesting to me that it seemed that Leth's overall greatest struggle was the Obstruction left open ended as deliberate punishment. I can relate—a list of directions is much more kind than a blank page. Coming up with original ideas is scary and rather daunting. The Obstruction is something that I think will be exciting to apply as a creative building exercise.