The Five Obstructions
Koch Lorber Films | Release Date: May 26, 2004 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
79
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 22 Critic Reviews
Positive:
20
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
This movie equivalent of Robert Rauschenberg's artwork "Erased de Kooning" is funny, ornery, and ultimately inspiring. Read full review
100
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
As he rises to each challenge, you realize that von Trier, the most exalted of prankish sadists, has orchestrated the filmmaking equivalent of the story of Job. The Five Obstructions glories in art, life, and the faith that binds them. Read full review
100
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
A complete original. This ingenious, almost indescribable film won't remind you of anything else because there's nothing else like it. Read full review
90
TimeRichard Corliss
The next time you hear a director complain about the studio or his stars or the weather or whatever, think of what Jorgen Leth achieved with Lars von Trier as his boss -- when five obstructions became five splendid opportunities. Read full review
89
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Riveting, and frankly it's great fun to see Leth best the smirky von Trier five times running. Read full review
88
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Keep "Survivor" and "Fear Factor," and give me this spellbinding mind teaser, the ultimate game for movie buffs. Read full review
88
New York Daily NewsStaff (Not credited)
A sensational oddity. It sheds light on the creative process, on filmmaking and on the durability of friendship and professional respect despite the odds. Read full review
83
Portland OregonianMarc Mohan
It's a treat to be diverted by a film that actually has a brain. Read full review
80
The DissolveNoel Murray
As a piece of filmmaking, the documentary The Five Obstructions is nowhere near as artful as Leth’s films-within-the-film. Read full review
80
VarietyDavid Stratton
Though billed as a documentary, The Five Obstructions doesn't easily fall into any category. Perhaps it's best described as a game, in which a pair of Danish film directors from different generations spar with one another in a highly civilized, and surprisingly entertaining, fashion. Read full review
80
The New York TimesDana Stevens
Watching The Five Obstructions is at once like witnessing two chess masters playing dominoes and like spying on a series of therapy sessions. Mr. von Trier clearly sees himself as a maniacal psychoanalyst. Read full review
80
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
Even those who dismiss Von Trier as a talented sadist might reconsider after seeing this revealing and ultimately poignant documentary -- and the funny thing is, on the surface it's not even about him. Read full review
80
L.A. WeeklyScott Foundas
From its very first frames it exerts a powerful fascination. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
Part of what hooks you to this movie is how Leth outsmarts his taskmaster, and how the two men have divergent, almost incompatible aesthetic ideals. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
In The Five Obstructions, we meet the Danish filmmaker for an extended period, and he's exactly what a fan might hope and expect him to be like: impish, insightful, unpredictable, mildly sadistic and rigorously honest. Read full review
75
Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean Axmaker
It all feels like a performance for the camera: von Trier as madman producer taunting the elder filmmaker. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
The Five Obstructions clearly calls for a sequel, in which Leth would require von Trier to remake "Dogville," despite Obstructions 6 through 10. Read full review
70
The A.V. ClubNoel Murray
The film is also valuable for raising awareness about Leth, whose work hasn't been as widely recognized as that of his European contemporaries, but who now makes an impressive case for his skills, five times over. Read full review
70
Village VoiceJ. Hoberman
An unclassifiable film-school exercise--one part documentary, one part psychodrama, and one part mock manifesto--The Five Obstructions mainly serves to illuminate the game-like nature of Lars von Trier's aesthetic project. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterFrank Scheck
In this enjoyable if trivial battle between von Trier's psychodrama theatricality and Leth's cool formalism, it's ultimately the viewer who comes out the winner. Read full review
60
Film ThreatStaff (Not credited)
As Leth overcomes each obstacle set before him, the film becomes a work of extraordinary artistry, intellectual exhilaration, emotional uplift, and outright affection. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
In short, it's amusing only if you agree not to think very much about it. Read full review
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