Lars von Trier

A film director and a screenwriter (played by Lars von Trier and his actual screenwriter, Niels Vørsel) research and develop a screenplay in which a deadly virus spreads through the entire world. However, like their protagonist, the duo do not notice that a real epidemic is developing around them.

Lars von Trier has never been shy to burnish his reputation as the malevolent puppet master of his protagonists’ misfortune, but never quite so literally as in this playful documentary. One of the great films about filmmaking, The Five Obstructions is a reflexive marvel of cinematic problem solving.

The grand evolution of motion pictures is examined and critiqued through the use of film clips and interviews with legendary artists and scholars.

A portrait of groundbreaking cinematographer Robby Müller, this film essay intertwines archival footage with excerpts from his expansive body of work.