Idioten

Ein Film über das Verlassen von ausgetretenen Pfaden und das Entdecken einer absoluten seelischen Freiheit und des Glücks. Und auch ein Film über eine sehr schwierige und für ein schwächeres Individuum unmögliche Rückkehr. Idioten finde ich in vielerlei Hinsicht positiv, ich würde den Film aber trotzdem kürzen. Das Thema ist ausgezeichnet, für einen zweistündigen Film aber unzureichend. Eine Laufzeit von 80 Minuten wäre besser gewesen, sie würde besser zu dem Charakter eines halb experimentellen Films passen. (11.08.2002)

Another von Trier shocker. A bunch of intellectuals play at being mentally handicapped and annoy the people around them. There several scenes that are for strong stomachs only, and the sex orgy is so bold that it can easily be described as pornography. In short, Lars von Trier shocks again with gusto, but this time very skillfully and I quite like it in this case. (27.08.2002)

It’s smart, it’s bold, it’s fine. That said, I’m glad that in his later films Trier has formally settled down a little. Dogma 95 is an interesting manifest, but those films aren’t all that nice to watch, especially when they are two hours long. (29.07.2011)

Der Mann sieht aus wie ein Idiot, er verhält sich wie ein Idiot, aber täuschen Sie sich nicht, er ist wirklich ein Idiot... verstehen Sie den alten Witz der Marx-Brothers nicht? Trier erklärt es anschaulich in seinem typisch nackten, terroristischen und ätzenden Panoptikum verzerrter Produkte der modernen Gesellschaft. (13.10.2011)

For me, definitely the weakest representative of the "Golden Heart Trilogy" and overall one of Trier's weaker films, but still can't say it's a weak or mediocre film overall:) The beginning is actually quite comedic in places (if you're willing to accept it, of course), but it wouldn't be Lars von Trier if he didn't incorporate a few more chilling and stirring moments into his film and let his characters take a nice "bath", so although The Idiots looks like a "mere" gritty comedy at first, in the end (and especially in the end) it's pure Trier drama. Still, the fates and tribulations of the main characters didn't stick with me nearly as much as with Lars’ other films. Of course, I'm not denying the originality of this work (the film's theme, where a bunch of various middle-aged misfits play at being mentally handicapped and go "nuts" because they're actually just bored – that's an "incredible" idea), but compared to everything else my beloved Lars von Trier has made so far, it's still "only" slightly above average. That fourth star is teetering on the edge. (07.04.2011)