The Idiots
Directed by	Lars von Trier
Produced by	Vibeke Windeløv
Written by	Lars von Trier
Starring	Bodil Jørgensen, Jens Albinus, Anne Louise Hassing, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Troels Lyby, Luis Mesonero, Louise Mieritz, Henrik Prip, Knud Romer Jørgensen, Trine Michelsen, Anne-Grethe Bjarup Riis, Paprika Steen
Music by
Cinematography	{{{cinematography}}}
Editing by	{{{editing}}}
Distributed by
Released	20 May 1998 (Cannes Film Festival)
First Screened	{{{screened}}}
Running time	117 min.
Language	Danish
Budget
Preceded by	{{{preceded_by}}}
Followed by	{{{followed_by}}}
IMDb profile

The Idiots (Danish: Idioterne) is a 1998 Danish film directed by Lars von Trier. It is his first film made in compliance with the Dogme '95 Manifesto, and it is known as Dogme #2. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (700x857, 39 KB) Summary Poster for the German language version of the danish film Idioterne Licensing This image is of a movie poster or title card, and the copyright for it is most likely owned by either the publisher of the... Lars von Trier at Cannes in 2000 Lars von Trier (born Lars Trier, April 30, 1956 in Copenhagen, Denmark) is a Danish film director closely associated with the Dogme95 collective, calling for a return to plausible stories in filmmaking and a move away from artifice and towards technical minimalism. ... Lars von Trier at Cannes in 2000 Lars von Trier (born Lars Trier, April 30, 1956 in Copenhagen, Denmark) is a Danish film director closely associated with the Dogme95 collective, calling for a return to plausible stories in filmmaking and a move away from artifice and towards technical minimalism. ... 20 May is the 140th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (141st in leap years). ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... Lars von Trier at Cannes in 2000 Lars von Trier (born Lars Trier, April 30, 1956 in Copenhagen, Denmark) is a Danish film director closely associated with the Dogme95 collective, calling for a return to plausible stories in filmmaking and a move away from artifice and towards technical minimalism. ... Dogme 95 (in English: Dogma 95) is an avant-garde filmmaking movement started in 1995 by the Danish directors Lars von Trier, Thomas Vinterberg, Kristian Levring, and Søren Kragh-Jacobsen. ...

The film is about an anti-bourgeois group of adults who spend their time seeking their "inner idiot", by releasing their inhibitions and behaving as if mentally retarded in public, hence challenging the establishment. They feel that the society-at-large treats their intelligence uncreatively and unchallengingly; thus, they seek humiliation and degradation. Bourgeois at the end of the thirteenth century. ... The word idiot, is derived from the Greek word ιδιωτης, idiôtès, a private citizen, individual, from ιδιος, idios, private. It was originally used in the ancient Greek city-states to refer to people who were overly concerned with their own self-interest and ignored the needs of the community. ... Mental retardation (abbreviated as MR), is a term for a pattern of persistently slow learning of basic motor and language skills (milestones) during childhood, and a significantly below-normal intellectual capacity as an adult. ...

The Idiots is the second film in Von Trier's Golden Heart Trilogy which includes Breaking the Waves (1996) and Dancer in the Dark (2000). Breaking the Waves is a 1996 film, set in the Scottish Highlands in the 1970s, which tells the story of Bess McNeill, who marries oil-man Jan, despite the apprehensions of her community and Calvinist church. ... This is a list of film-related events in 1996. ... Dancer in the Dark is a musical film released in the year 2000. ... This is a list of film-related events in 2000. ...

Tagline 1: You're a whole lot dumber than you think.

Tagline 2: A film by idiots, about idiots, for idiots.

Plot summary

A group of adults lives in a large house in Denmark and spends most of their time pretending to be mentally retarded in public as a means of finding their "inner idiot". They are met by Karen (Bodil Jørgensen) who at first accidentally and then purposefully falls in with them. Mental retardation (abbreviated as MR), is a term for a pattern of persistently slow learning of basic motor and language skills (milestones) during childhood, and a significantly below-normal intellectual capacity as an adult. ... The word idiot, is derived from the Greek word ιδιωτης, idiôtès, a private citizen, individual, from ιδιος, idios, private. It was originally used in the ancient Greek city-states to refer to people who were overly concerned with their own self-interest and ignored the needs of the community. ...

Awards

• Bodil Awards (1999)
  • Won: Best Actress, Bodil Jørgensen
  • Won: Best Supporting Actor, Nikolaj Lie Kaas
  • Won: Best Supporting Actress, Anne Louise Hassing
  • Nominated: Best Film
• Cannes Film Festival (1998)
  • Nominated: Golden Palm
• European Film Awards (1998)
  • Nominated: European Film Award, Best Screenwriter
• London Film Festival (1998)
  • Won: FIPRESCI Prize, Lars von Trier
• Robert Festival (1999)
  • Won: Best Actress, Bodil Jørgensen
• Valladolid International Film Festival (1998)
  • Nominated: Golden Spike, Lars von Trier

1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ...

Confession

The confession of a Dogme 95 film is an idea adapted by Thomas Vinterberg in the first Dogme 95 film: Make a confession if there were things happening on the shoot which are not in accordance with the strict interpretation of the Dogme 95 rules. It is written from the director's point of view. Accordingly, Lars von Trier made the following confession: Thomas Vinterberg at 40th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival Thomas Vinterberg (born May 19, 1969) is a Danish film director who, along with Lars von Trier, co-founded the Dogme 95 movement in filmmaking, which established rules for simplifying movie production. ...

In relation to the production of Dogme 2 "The Idiots", I confess:

• To have used a stand-in in one case only (the sexual intercourse scene).
• To have organised payment of cash to the actors for shopping of accessories (food).
• To have intervened with the location (by moving sources of light — candlelight — to achieve exposure).
• To have been aware of the fact that the production had entered into an agreement of leasing a car (without the knowledge of the involved actor).

All in all, and apart from the above, I feel to have lived up to the intentions and rules of the manifesto: Dogme95.

Banned

Due to its explicit sexual content in the sexual intercourse scene, the film was banned in Ireland. It is an adult-only movie in Argentina, Australia(though it has been shown uncut on tv with an MA rating), Chile, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, Spain, the United States, Switzerland and the UK.

External links

• Idioterne at the Internet Movie Database