Alicia I love this movie so much

Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Jackson Booth-Millard From director Lars Von Trier (Dogville), I remember seeing this Danish film at least once or twice, but I didn't really know what to think of it, the critics think it is good. Basically it sees a group of young adults, all normal, regular and intelligent people spend time together in a small society to find their "inner idiot". This is to have some kind of entertainment in public pretending to be mentally retarded, taking advantage of the situation with those who fall into believing it. One of the newly recruited members of the group starts out going along with it, but slowly she becomes highly uncomfortable with the stupid activities they are getting themselves into, they are almost becoming what they are pretending to be, retarded. Starring Bodil Jørgensen as Karen, Jens Albinus as Stoffer, Anne Louise Hassing as Susanne, Troels Lyby as Henrik, Nikolaj Lie Kaas as Jeppe, Louise Mieritz as Josephine, Henrik Prip as Ped and Luis Mesonero as Miguel. To be honest the only bit of the film I can ever remember is the part when they are all taking their clothes off, running about naked, and having a near orgy, but I do also remember it having an interesting documentary style, it is a weird comedy drama. Worth watching, at least once, in my opinion!

CogansTrader At the close of Cannes 2011; Lars Von Trier's reputation as one of the most gifted yet controversial film makers around was firmly intact hitting new levels of outrageousness; however, it wasn't the first time he has managed to get the crowd at arguably the world's most prestigious film festival talking. In 1998 The Idiots aka Dogme #2 made its debut causing mass controversy; mass criticism; and mass discussion. Naturally for a film which caused such a stir it's an unusual watch. It's a strange sensation to be made to feel uncomfortable yet totally engrossed in a film and stranger still, feeling guilty for enjoying it. The term "guilty pleasure" is usually used to hide embarrassment e.g. captain of the school sports team loves a chick flick; yet here the term really is applicable.Credit to the cast who participated largely unaware of what the script would demand of them. We are introduced to Karen (Bodil Jørgensen, playing the films and our conscience) who is then caught up in an anti- middle class gang who spend their time in public 'spassing' out; in other words, pretending to be disabled (PC alarm bells ringing from the off then) in order to release their inner "idiots". Rule three of Dogme 95; a hand-held camera, works particularly well; from the off we are thrown right into the heart of the group, we might as well be made to feel as if we are documenting it.The film certainly makes an interesting comment on how social behaviour can restrict us and, for lack of a better word, the "licence" given to those struggling with mental illnesses to behave more outlandishly. The character's main release is to pose as those without social confinements in public; however the gang eventually do away with only doing it in view of the public eye; is it a hobby or an addiction? Certainly different members of the group enter into it with different motifs and levels of seriousness.The Dogme 95 movement on the whole polarised audiences so to say that The Idiots; one of the most famous of all Dogme films, will not be to everyone's tastes is an understatement. The actual subject matter will be off putting to some; a topic such as this being played for laughs in certain parts makes for uncomfortable viewing; even more so due to the fact that it is funny. The film also asks the question of how disabled citizens are treated by society; nearly fifteen years on and it isn't hard to imagine people still being perturbed at the thought of allowing mentally disabled yet completely harmless people to walk around their garden. Throughout the film Von Trier gives us uncomfortable laughs; mocks the middle class attitude to the disabled; and manages to throw in a shockingly graphic orgy. All of this building up to a real emotional sucker punch of a climax. It isn't until the closing scenes that the film stops trying to provoke the audience's brain and instead aims straight for the heart. If nothing else, The Idiots will get you talking; as if Von Trier would have it any other way. 8/10

Maz Murdoch (asda-man) Lars Von Trier is the king of controversy. He deliberately adds scenes that aren't needed at all just to create shock from the public, he did it in "Antichrist" by placing a pornographic 3 second shock of graphic sex. Here he's decided to do it again by adding idiotic images like a fully erect penis and a pornographic sex scene. They may not be very long shots but they are simply disgusting and not needed. This film has confirmed to me that Lars Von Trier, how ever good a film-maker he is, is a pervert! He's recently even stated that whilst working on his latest film "Melencholia" he'd love to see Kirsten Dunst in a 10 minute porn movie! That's before saying that he's a fan of Nazis (as a joke, yeah real funny Lars!).But here we're getting off the point of the film. What was the point anyway? I must've completely missed the brilliance of "The Idiots" because to me it seemed like an even more pointless "Jackass", watching pathetic idiots acting like mentally ill people by "spazzing" in public to find their inner idiot. There is little and almost no plot at all. It's a character piece, focusing on really unlikable people who have little interesting about them.The shaky camera seems entirely unnecessary with the boom mic and camera reflection clearly visible in some shots. The directing simply has no directing. Some intellectuals might consider it "sponataneous" and "different" but it's pointless and off-putting. The screenplay is also a complete mess. Maybe something got lost in translation but I couldn't particularly understand what was going on and what the point was of there actions.I also would not recommend watching this with other people because watching it by yourself is awkward enough. The final scene is really intense and not the good intense like "Black Swan" but really awkward and uncomfortable intense. It's horrible to watch and quite upsetting and I don't know why anyone would want their audience to feel that way. The reason for the extra mark was just for the power of the last scene and how the whole experience of seeing the film will take a while for me to forget.Intellectuals will only like "The Idiots", they will see things I can't see because to me it's a confusing, boring and senseless piece of film making with some disgusting imagery and perverted writing. Stay clear of "The Idiots" like you'd stay clear of an idiot.

Júlia Zamora REVIEW: The IdiotsThe Idiots (1198, Lars von Trier) is the second Dogma film and one of the most representative of the whole movement. Actually it can be said that the film works as a metaphor of Dogma 95. Where in the film the characters form a group that breaks with their society's norms, the Dogma 95 was a group of people that went against the film making-norms. All the features that characterize both the dogma films and the "idiots" are designed to go against the mainstream, the middle class, to avoid being common and perhaps achieving a new and more true way of storytelling/living. The Dogma manifesto is aimed towards a purer film, just like the idiots in the movie aiming for a purer lifestyle. The prominent technique used in the film is largely following the rules of the Dogma manifesto. In this way there is almost no technique, the restrictions created by the manifesto make the style more "pure", creating a sense of things being natural which directly ties into one of the main themes of the movie- which is the characters obsession with getting away from society and normal life hence acting like idiots- which is also a direct reflection on why the manifesto was made in the first place. By allowing the actors to improvise von Trier further pushes this "pure" style, there was a script but it was very loosely followed. The actors were allowed to break from the norms of acting, letting themselves be idiots in a sense, while still maintaining their role as an actor- as they are only acting like idiots. We have noticed that almost all of them have interpretated during the film two characters –the disabled one, and the "normal" one-. The voyer does not know when the actors are playing their real they and when are not. Consequently, the film seems to be liberated from the frontier between fiction and reality at the same that that becames genre classified: mokumentary? Docu-drama? Did they find their idiot? In several times during the film the members of the group are asking themselves about the sense of their exercise. One of the most tensional moments of the film is when Stoffer, the leader of the group, slips out of his role as "retarded" and declares that the group should give up the exercise and go home. The barrier between their idiots lifes and their daily lifes is clearly distinguished. They are not free to be idiots all the time, they can not escape the unhappy society, their "middle class" life. Karen is the only one that really needed to find her inner idiot because no one of the others dares to show their idiot at home. That shows that Karen is the only one who can escape social norms, if even momentarily.