The film is about a group of young, well-educated people who have opted out of society for a while. Under the leadership of the idealist Stoffer (idealists are common, but problematic in Lars von Trier's films) they challenge society's established order and social standards.
They practise idiocy and later go out into the "real" world to show off their skills (see clip).
The inner idiot
The Idiots is funny in a subtle and ironic way but also emotional and moving. Not least when the idiots meet a slightly naive woman, Karen, who is the diametrical opposite of Stoffer and fails completely to understand why they act as they do.
She questions their motivation for finding their inner idiot. But in fact it turns out that Karen's need to act like an idiot and rebel against the expectations and demands of her surroundings is bigger than theirs.
Actors contribute to the process
The film is a typical example of Lars von Trier's desire to challenge by pushing things to extremes. In his journal from the shooting of the film von Trier describes how he tried to make the process as unrestrained and collective as possible. The actors were to contribute to the story. But it became painful for him and some of the actors - just as the dream of performing idiocy becomes painful in the film.
The Idiots divided audiences. Throughout his entire career, which started with The Element of Crime (Forbrydelsens element) in 1984, Lars von Trier has managed to innovate, to push the limits of the possible and please and repel people simultaneously. In Denmark as well as abroad von Trier is regarded as the most respected and influential Danish film director since Carl Th. Dreyer.
Christian Monggaard is a film reviewer and critic for the daily newspaper Information.
Anne Louise Hassing and Bodil Jørgensen in The Idiots (Idioterne). Photo: Jan Schut. Producent: Zentropa/DR TV. © Trust Film.