The Five Obstructions
2003 film by Lars von Trier, Jørgen Leth
The Five Obstructions is a 2003 Danish documentary film directed by Lars von Trier and Jørgen Leth. The film is conceived as a documentary, but incorporates lengthy sections of experimental films produced by the filmmakers. The premise is that Trier has created a challenge for his friend and mentor, Jørgen Leth, another renowned filmmaker. Lars von Trier's favorite film is Leth's The Perfect Human, and Trier gives Leth the task of remaking The Perfect Human five times, each time with a different "obstruction" (or obstacle) imposed by Trier.
It has been said that "Both this film and Dogville show a more mature Trier, one who is more aware of and accountable to the full implications of the torture, suffering and victimization he has employed in his films, especially in exploring how easily those who victimize others in the name of righteousness become victims [of] their own self-righteousness."
The obstructions
12 frames, answers, cuba, no set: Leth must remake the film in Cuba, with no set, and with no shot lasting longer than twelve frames, and he must answer the questions posed in the original film; Leth successfully completes this task.
A miserable place, don't show it, Jørgen Leth is the man, the meal: Leth must remake the film in the worst place in the world but not show that place onscreen; additionally, Leth must himself play the role of "the man". The meal must be included, but the woman is not to be included. Leth remakes the film in the red light district of Mumbai, only partially hiding it behind a translucent screen.
Complete freedom or back to Bombay: Because Leth failed to complete the second task perfectly, Trier punishes him, telling him to either remake the film in any way he chooses, or else to repeat it again with the second obstruction in Mumbai. Leth chooses the first option and remakes the film in Brussels, using split-screen effects.
“The Five Obstructions” enters the record as 2003 film by Lars von Trier, Jørgen Leth. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Five, Obstructions and film can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Reception evidence should be dated and situated: later canonical status may differ sharply from the work’s initial circulation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2632905. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 2 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2003.
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This entry incorporates text from “The Five Obstructions” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.