Perfekte menneske, Det (1967)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Jørgen Leth

Writers:

Ole John (writer)
Jørgen Leth (writer)

Release Date:

1967 (Denmark)

Genre:

Documentary | Short

Plot:

An elegant and humorous film-in the guise of a serious anthropological treatise-spotlights "The Perfect Human," a model of the modern Dane created by our wishful thinking.

Plot Keywords:

Reenactment | Behavior | Experiment | Sex

Cast

Claus Nissen	...	The Perfect Man
Majken Algren Nielsen	...	The Perfect Woman (as Maiken Algren)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jørgen Leth	...	Speaker (voice)

Directed by
Jørgen Leth

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Ole John		writer
Jørgen Leth		writer

Original Music by
Henning Christiansen

Cinematography by
Henning Camre
Ole John

Film Editing by
Knud Hauge

Sound Department
Kaj Gram Larsen	....	sound

Production Companies

• Laterna Film

Distributors

• Det Danske Filminstitut (Denmark) (theatrical)
• Kortfilmrådet (Denmark)

Also Known As:

The Perfect Human (International: English title)

Runtime:

Denmark:13 min

Country:

Denmark

Language:

Danish

Color:

Black and White

Certification:

Denmark:A | Australia:PG

Company:

Laterna Film

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Epidemic (1987)

Just the sort of "pseudo-intellectual claptrap" that makes the average person hate art films

When Jørgen Leth made this short art film, I'm sure he was very pleased with himself as all the intelligentsia agreed that it was brilliant. After all, what's better than a Danish-language film made in black & white that consists of no plot but a man and woman who are non-emotive and do lots of moronic repetitive actions set to a pointless narration? This is the height of greatness for the artsy-fartsy folks who like to watch incomprehensible films and laugh in a self-satisfying way when others say they think the film is a waste of time. While I have seen many, many international films and have done a ton of reviews on IMDb, I just can't see much point to this sort of stuff BUT at the same time I hate the fare that Hollywood has been churning out for some time. Can't you want something different and yet not have it be as banal as DET PERFEKTE MENNESKE? Watch this film only if you have a tremendous need to be self-satisfied or if you actually enjoy being bored out of your mind. Don't say I didn't warn you.

FYI--This banal little film is included on the DVD for THE FIVE OBSTRUCTIONS--a series of updated versions of this film. While not much fun to watch, THE FIVE OBSTRUCTIONS is better and more watchable (though this isn't saying much).