The Five Obstructions is an experiment in which a clip is filmed under five confinement. The directors wanted to be chastised and wanted to reach a state of perfection through five obstructions that stimulate imperfect film production. Throughout the film, Jorgen and von Trier wanted to address a question: How to ruin a "perfect" film (The Perfect Human) to overthrow themselves as a director?
I assume that the director of Five Obstructions wanted to achieve an experimental goal by filming the same clip in The Perfect Human in five different circumstances.
The five obstructions in the movie, listed in order, can be explained by the following:
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To film a clip with only 12 frames in an unfamiliar and practical (inartificial) environment that reflects the scene in The Perfect Human.
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To visit an extreme situation and show the clip with absences of actors and props.
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Challenge on the director’s personal limit- unlimited confinement of one’s potential- to explore deep into the director’s mind.
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To make an animation- a form of video that both directors don’t prefer- to challenges themselves as a form of self-flagellation.
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To let another person, intervene in very personal production of the film to reach an experiment of deprivation.
I see a beautiful relationship between Jorgen and von Trier- they set obstruction that “rein” a film, but at last, bring themselves into a desired, perfect state. They critic each other’s work, and set obstructions that let one step out of their comfort confinement, that experiment imperfect, and experiment with their limits. In both forms and content, von Trier explores crazy, and maybe seems a meaningless theme in The Perfect Human. But what is interesting is, the way how they address a meaningless task seems to have a profound meaning inside it. For example, the conversation around “distance” in the movie, mentioned many times, was a meaningful idea to explore.
