Idioterne / The idiots has great similarity to Breaking the waves and Dancer in the dark: A naïve girl falls victim to the circumstances and pays too high a price. Nearly all von Trier's movies are about idealism, and so is this one. Stoffer as the group leader at first seems the binding factor, but as all others have different reasons than idealism to enter the group he establishes his leadership with increasing emphasis on psychological force and less on convincing arguments. As all members have a desire to stay in the group (again for different reasons) he then demands that they go to extreme lengths to show their commitment to the cause and indirectly to him. Hence the orgy scene (as viewers we end up with more seating comfort in the cinema after that). Then all thresholds are passed; the outsider (father) steps in to bring them back to reality and diminish their renewed established group bond. Stoffer then demands the ultimate sacrifice. Only the naïve Karen is able to be an idiot in real life in one of the most painful and harrowing scenes ever put on screen.

It feels somewhat rushed in writing and making which is odd because von Trier is known as a perfectionist. All his directing efforts seem to be put here in the actors so there is good acting across the board. The Dogme-rules only contribute to greater intensity. Von Trier interviews the actors in the movie so there is a parallel between the movie's group dynamics and the actor's group dynamics.

Breaking the waves was in my opinion overlong. Dancer in the dark was placed too much in the fantasy screen world and had therefore less dramatic impact. From the Golden Hearts-trilogy I personally like this the most.

What can you expect from a film based on a childish manifesto like Dogma 95? Bad lighting, bad acting (with a couple of notable exceptions) and a feeling that some of the scenes (like the orgy) were introduced only to prove that the Dogma was being obeyed...

The story itself (a group of people pretending to be mentally retarded and interacting with the "normal" world, with each other and with themselves) is sometimes intriguing and certainly will not leave any spectator undisturbed, but it is not enough to make this piece remarkable.

Only to be seen as a curiosity...

This misunderstood and wildly underappreciated film is up there with Riget and Zentropa in the Von Trier canon, and in my opinion better than Breaking the Waves. Critics focussed on the film's perceived cruel attitude towards the mentally handicapped. Idioterne is actually a very personal film about revolution, healing and Danish society's attitude towards the 'retarded'. It is an incredibly brave and moving film that will have you dabbing your eyes by the end.

Whoever decided that American filmgoers could not be exposed to the sight of penises, however, needs to lose their job. The absurdity of being exposed to full frontal female nudity--while being protected by big black floating boxes whenever a John Thomas is on screen--is an outrage. Did someone REALLY think this film would break through at the box office if these appendages were obscured? Were they concerned that Joe Six Pack was going to take the wife and kids to that new movie by that famed Danish director that's such a big hit with the arthouse crowd? The mind boggles.