Forbrydelsens element (1984)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Lars von Trier

Writers:

Niels Vørsel (writer) &
William Quarshie (dialogue translation) ...

Release Date:

14 May 1984 (Denmark)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Plot:

A cop in a dystopian Europe investigates a serial killings suspect using controversial methods written by his now disgraced former mentor.

Plot Keywords:

Method | Hypnosis | Serial Killer | Detective | Water

Awards:

11 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Michael Elphick	...	Fisher
Esmond Knight	...	Osborne
Me Me Lai	...	Kim (as Meme Lai)
Jerold Wells	...	Kramer
Ahmed El Shenawi	...	Therapist
Astrid Henning-Jensen	...	House Keeper
János Herskó	...	Coroner (as Janos Hersko)
Stig Larsson	...	Coroner's Assistant
Harry Harper	...	Portier 1
Roman Moszkowicz	...	Portier 2
Lars von Trier	...	Schmuck of Ages (as Lars Von Trier)
Frederik Casby	...	White Policeman
Duke Addabayo	...	Black Policeman
Jon Bang Carlsen	...	Angry Policeman (as Jon Bang-Carlsen)
Leif Magnusson	...	Hotel Guest

Also Known As:

The Element of Crime (UK) (USA)
The Last Tourist in Europe (Denmark) (working title)

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

Denmark

Language:

English

Colour:

Black and White (tinted) | Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Italy:T | USA:TV-MA (TV rating) | Finland:K-16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Singapore:R(A) | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 | UK:15 | South Korea:18 | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Det Danske Filmstudie, Lyngby, Sjælland, Denmark

Company:

Det Danske Filminstitut

Trivia:

The first film in Lars von Trier's 'Europa' trilogy which illuminates the traumas of Europe in the future. The two other parts are Epidemic (1987) and Europa (1991).

Quotes:

[first lines]
Therapist: [to Fisher] Fantasy is OK, but my job to keep you on the right track. We are after the facts. You seem to return to Cairo and me whenever you have a problem. Two months ago you left Cairo, your wife, everything for a police job in Europe. Now you are back haunted by headaches. If you want me to help you get rid of these headaches, we must go back two months in the time. Back to where it all started. All I know... Europe has become an obsession for you.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Storyboarding 'Element of Crime' with Cinematographer Tom Elling (2005) (V)

Soundtrack:

Der Letzte Tourist in Europa

Nightmarish, beautiful, haunting

The plots follows the descent of a reactivated ex-cop, Fisher, into a killer's mind, using a method he has been taught by his old teacher, Osborne. The backdrop of the story is Europe in an unspecified future and after an unnamed catastrophe that let the continent fall in a perpetual darkness, an apocalyptic, anarchic gloominess. More and more, Fisher becomes like the killer as he gets increasingly fascinated with the strangely complex set-up of the murders...

Ultimately, this is a film about moral corruption and cultural decline of the western world. In the tradition of cultural pessimism from the beginning of the century, it paints a gruesome picture of a world devoid of decency and morale. "I want you to screw God into me.", these words spoken by Kim, a hooker Fisher picks up during his travels, are maybe the best expression of the ultimate loss of any metaphysical sense of belonging.

The style of the movie reflects this gloominess beautifully.

There are dark and gruesome nightmares you had that linger on in your mind and strangely, sometimes in your waking hours, you wish you'd get back to taste the sweet despair again... This movie is one of them.