The Five Obstructions

The Five Obstructions follows a cinematic challenge posed by Lars Von Trier to break his former tutor and close friend Jorgen Leth of his stale objectivity. Jorgen's progression does give this documentary character development, which imposes a narrative feel. However, I couldn't help but feel that each of his recreations of “The Prefect Human” lack the quality of his initial film (at least from what was shown of it during the film). I'm not sure what exactly can be made of this: perhaps it represents either a link between his previous objectivity and his success as a filmmaker, or a fluke in Von Trier's obstructions.  I think ultimately, it’s an affirmation that any recreation of a work of art can never successfully capture the essence of an original. The experiment however, produced a poignant self-reflexive documentary, with just enough narrative to keep the film from feeling dry.