The Idiots (1998)

The group of people gather at the house in Copenhagen suburb to break all the limitations and to bring out the "inner idiot" in themselves.

Director:

Lars von Trier (uncredited)

Writer:

Lars von Trier

Stars:

Bodil Jørgensen, Jens Albinus, Anne Louise Hassing

6 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bodil Jørgensen	...	Karen
Jens Albinus	...	Stoffer
Anne Louise Hassing	...	Susanne
Troels Lyby	...	Henrik
Nikolaj Lie Kaas	...	Jeppe
Louise Mieritz	...	Josephine
Henrik Prip	...	Ped
Luis Mesonero	...	Miguel
Knud Romer Jørgensen	...	Axel
Trine Michelsen	...	Nana
Anne-Grethe Bjarup Riis	...	Katrine
Paprika Steen	...	High Class Lady
Erik Wedersøe	...	Stoffer's Uncle
Michael Moritzen	...	Man From Municipality
Anders Hove	...	Josephine's Father

Storyline

A group of perfectly intelligent young people decide to react to society's cult of aimless, non-creative and non-responsible form intellect by living together in a community of "idiots". Their main activity becomes going out into the world of "normal" people and pretending to be mentally retarded. They take advantage of this situation to create anarchy everywhere they go and try by every possible means to make people annoyed, disturbed, miserable, ridiculous, angered, and shocked. The film starts as they recruit a new lost soul and introduce her to their megalomaniac leader.

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Plot Keywords:

explicit sex | experimental film | dogme 95 | public nudity | community | 

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Taglines:

A film by idiots, about idiots, for idiots

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexuality and nudity, and for language

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of the many favorite films of Tom Six, the creator of The Human Centipede trilogy.

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Goofs

This is a film that adheres to the 'Dogme 95' manifesto, so the usual goof rules do not necessarily apply. This includes shots of the crew, microphones and other equipment, as well as continuity errors.

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Quotes

[Susanne puts a "spastic" Ped behind the van's steering wheel]
Guide at Factory: Who... is he driving?
Susanne: Responsibility does them good.
[Ped drives off recklessly]

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Alternate Versions

The Australian version is missing about two seconds of sexual penetration footage, during the orgy scene. This was removed to avoid an 'X' rating, thus ensuring a more marketable 'R' rating.

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Connections

Referenced in Bleeder (1999)

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Soundtracks

Vi Er Dem De Andre Ikke Må lege Med
by Kim Larsen & Erik Clausen

User Reviews

Marvellous entertainment

Although this is the second 'Dogme' film, this was the first that I saw. It began rather unsettlingly in a restaurant and from there the entertainment only went up, as the group of 'Idiots' became more in touch with their inner selves. Showing themselves to be as vulnerable as the rest of the human race rather than special observers which they pretended to be brought them to the point of breakdown. Karen, who wasn't part of the insular group to begin with, gets taken along as things escalate, is shown to be a genuinely tragic figure. This film is definitely worth seeing.

Details

Official Sites:

Dogme 95 collective

Country:

Denmark Spain Sweden France Netherlands Italy

Language:

Danish

Release Date:

21 May 1998 (France)

Also Known As:

Dogma 95 - Idioterne

Filming Locations:

Søllerød, Sjælland, Denmark

Box Office

Budget:

$2,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Zentropa Entertainments, Danmarks Radio (DR), Liberator Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min 110 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1