A captivating experiment and one that delivers on all counts. The relationship between the two directors sparks off a challenge instigated by Von Trier for Leth to remake his 1967 short with a variety of obstructions. What then transpires is a glimpse into a creative mind left to re-cycle an old film and the results are fabulous. Easily the best two are the Cuban film and the Miami segment. They are the two with the most restrictions and the two which Leth fears producing the most. He confronts these fears head on and produces two dazzling films. The film explores the nature of creativity, the genesis and the complexity of it. How much can one control in film-making? Von Trier admits he likes to control everything. Leth says that there is always something that you cannot control once you have set up, and that he likes not being in total control. This reveals a man who likes to confront his demons, who likes to be in an uncomfortable place more than he admits. Von Trier wants Leth to make a film that leaves a mark on him, a scar but Leth is beyond this I believe. He turns in films that show just how creative he is. How he is able to remodel the narrative each time in a fresh way. It is Von Trier who ends up with egg on his face although I am inclined to think Von Trier knew exactly what he was doing. This is a consummate filmmaker and having generated this project once more he is the puppet master.

In the late 1960's, Danish filmmaker Jorgen Leth made a short conceptual work, titled The Perfect Human. Future filmmaker Lars von Trier saw Leth's film as a student in the 70's and was deeply inspired by it's use of cinematic rules and uncluttered presentation of cinematic composition. Over thirty years on, von Trier, now a close friend of Leth, has presented the elderly director with a mammoth task. He is to remake his celebrated short film, The Perfect Human not once, but five times, each with a strict and unarguably eccentric set of guidelines devised by von Trier.The Five Obstructions gives a great insight into the lives of these two filmmakers, as it documents Leth's cinematic strategies and intuitive genius in the face of von Trier's questioning pomposity, though ultimately the film ends up as little more than a subtle in-joke between the two filmmakers which, although interesting and enjoyable, leaves the viewer with little of personal meaning to take home with them. Leth's cinematic obstructions, here devised by von Trier, are an attempt to strip away any remnants of the senior director's genius, with von Trier proclaiming that the film won't be a success until Leth has turned it into a piece of crap (...von Trier's words!). The obstructions run the gauntlet from the seriously challenging (like no cut can be longer than twelve frames, the action must take place near a an 'unseen' scene of personal degradation), to the seriously strange (the film must be shot in Havana, the film must be a cartoon, your obstruction is there are no obstructions... and so on).Leth is able to deliver the film with almost all of von Trier's obstructions taken into consideration and, when each film is finished, the two filmmakers sit down together and watch the film whilst Leth is given the opportunity to explain to von Trier what his intentions were. The final obstruction is possibly von Trier's least pretentious concoction ever, as he turns the film completely on its head in a way that you'll either find mildly infuriating or heart-warmingly endearing. The film is a bold experiment and demonstrates how a filmmaker can elaborate on something they already view of as a 'perfect work' by being given a series of set guidelines by someone outside of the initial production's conception. But it could have been so much more.Many have viewed the film as an interesting essay into the nature of the auteur and the role of the director as the soul vision behind a work, but more people have seen it instead as a noble attempt by von Trier to lure the aging Leth away from his self-imposed exile in Haiti and his often mentioned, crippling depression. At any rate, the film has it's pros and cons, one of them being the notion that a film marketed as being very much about von Trier as a film-scamp turns out to be an intelligent and astute look into the workings of a filmmaker sadly neglected outside his native Denmark. I came to this film wanting to experience it as a fan of von Trier, but I left it wanting to learn more about Leth and to track down some of his works (shorts and documentaries) that are criminally unavailable here in the UK.The DVD of the Five Obstructions features the full-length version of Leth's original Perfect Human short, though it's lack of subtitles will cause an obvious hindrance for those of us who aren't fluent in the Danish language... though, this too could be an arcane obstruction for the audience, presented by von Trier. Well, perhaps? At the end of the day, The Five Obstructions remains an interesting look into the strange working relationship and antagonistic friendship that these two very different men share. It has humour, interesting visuals (taken from Leth's films) and a bold idea, but it could and should have delivered a lot more than it actually does.As the credits begin to roll, we are left with the feeling that, yes, I enjoyed that... did I learn anything from it? No, not really. This is an interesting failure, for cinephiles, von Trier fanatics & those with an interest in European film only.

Slow to start, but beautifully done...the last obstruction makes all the difference. You have to get to the end before you can say anything about the film. It's well worth the subtitles. I suggest watching the film in segments, obstruction by obstruction because it is slow. It does all culminate, however, in quite a lovely way, by the end of the film. Also, you get to see the original film from 1967 at the end. The way the films are obstructed each time creates such new and different, but also exciting, interesting and valuable films that it's fascinating to watch. This is definitely an artsy film, and you will have to read subtitles unless you speak Dutch? I think it's dutch. Anyway, for film buffs it's a great time. If you're just an idiot with no attention span however, you will cry out of boredom at this film.

This documentary was a pleasant surprise. I saw the original short movie "The Perfect Human" before viewing this, which is about re-making "The Perfect Human" under different and more difficult circumstances (the five obstacles), and I recommend others to do the same. To truly enjoy this movie you should have some interest for art movies and movie-making in general. It is amusing to see the frustrations of the movie-maker in question, Jørgen Leth, as he is ordered to cripple his original "masterpiece". The movie shows how creativity and imagination is stimulated under the right circumstances. I felt inspired after viewing this movie and actually made my own version of the short movie together with some friends (still not cut, but it will probably be awful). All in all, interesting and fun but sometimes it gets me thinking that some of the chunks between the short movies should have been cut out.