dir: Lars Von Trier
Lars Von Trier is the new enfant terrible of Europe. Since winning universal acclaim with BREAKING THE WAVES, Von Trier has made two films. The first, THE IDIOTS, contained a hardcore sex scene. The second, DANCER IN THE DARK, is a Dogma melodrama/musical playing to violently partisan reviews. However, Von Trier’s most daring and original film remains 1984’s THE ELEMENT OF CRIME, which finally gets the high quality transfer it deserves through The Criterion Collection.
Ostensibly a mystery in a futuristic setting, the plot of THE ELEMENT OF CRIME sounds like just another Thomas Harris rip-off. A European police investigator, Fischer (Michael Elphick), returns home after thirteen years in exile to solve the murders of the Lotto Girls, young girls who sell lottery tickets. The murder case bares uneasy resemblance to a group of murders three years ago when the culprit, a mysterious man named Harry Clay, was pursued by Fischer’s former professor Osborne (Esmond Knight). However, the plot is the least interesting aspect of this movie.
The Europe that Fischer returns to, like Chinatown, Shell Beach, and Alphaville, is first and foremost a state of mind. This state of mind is one of confusion and anarchy. The setting is futuristic, but not high tech. Whatever advanced technology this world once had is slowing being eroded through chaos, insanity, and violence. Europe is now a world of water. In contrast, sand has taken over Cairo. Seasons have stopped coming in this world. A person says of one town, “it is always three in the morning.” In this world, the expression is both literal and figurative. Fischer’s search will cause him to question his sanity in a world where everyone seems to be insane. Even the film’s structure echoes this off kilter attitude. ELEMENT like Von Trier’s following film ZENTORPA (his second best film), is set up as a hypnotic state. Unlike ZENTROPA, this film does show the hypnotist and work the motif of hypnotism throughout the film’s running time.
As can be guessed, THE ELEMENT OF CRIME is not like most films. Every scene in the film is tinted yellow. APOCALYPSE NOW seems to be the major influence. Much of the film is left unexplained. At the finale, a cult is performing some sort of ritual involving water and suicide. Soldiers move in with gas masks and M-16s as fires rage in the background and more water falls from the sky. Filmatic Vietnam has become a way of life. The climax of the film will disappoint some. Like the ending of John Sayles’ LIMBO, this film leaves much unexplained. The mystery is solved, but the film refuses to give the audience any catharsis.
THE ELEMENT OF CRIME demands much of the viewer. It has a stark surreal quality. At one point, Fischer must journey into the archives of the police station (more like a fortress). The archives room is only attainable by climbing down a rope into a half submerged basement where the original steps leading to it have long since been forgotten. The world of this film is more fantastical and imaginative than any science fiction or fantasy film in the last five years. However, none of this oddity is played with much excitement. The film’s pacing coincides with the methodical care of Fischer’s search for Harry Clay (surely, a reference to the classic noir boogie man Harry Lime). The slow pace can be tiring. This is more of a mood piece, not a thriller. However, viewers that can tap into Von Trier’s wavelength will find a fascinating cinematic puzzle unlike anything one has ever seen, and far more interesting than the whole Dogma nonsense. If the goal of science fiction is to take the viewer into another world, unique to the filmmakers, then THE ELEMENT OF CRIME is one of the very best.
One final note, if one wishes to watch this film, make sure he/she is strongly advised to get a hold of the Criterion Collection/Janus transfer (which is available on DVD and does play on the Independent Film Channel). THE ELEMENT OF CRIME was released on video tape in the late 80s/early 90s by another company. This was a horrible print with both bad sound and bad lighting. The odd visual style of ELEMENT, makes getting a decent transfer difficult.