1. What I was thinking...
Copy !req
2. Not that it's up to me.
We have no story board after all.
Copy !req
3. The idea is that we watch
The Perfect Human.
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4. Then you and I will formulate
a few obstructions.
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5. We'll make the same film, -
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6. The Perfect Human, five times.
Copy !req
7. Shall we watch it? Are you up to it?
I've seen it at least 20 times.
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8. How fantastic!
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9. Yes, there he is.
Who is he?
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10. What can he do?
What does he want?
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11. Why is he moving like that?
How does he move that way?
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12. Watch him!
Watch him now! And now!
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13. Watch him all the time!
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14. Now the music has gone.
No music any more.
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15. The perfect human in a room
without any limits, without anything.
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16. And a voice saying a few words.
This voice, saying these words.
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17. Watch him now.
Watch him all the time.
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18. A little gem
that we are now going to ruin.
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19. - That's the way it's got to be.
- A good perversion to cultivate.
Copy !req
20. My first obstruction, which you can
write down right away -
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21. is that no single edit may
be longer than 12 frames.
Copy !req
22. I'd like to try ... Do you remember
all the questions in the film?
Copy !req
23. In the narration you wrote
there were some questions.
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24. "What is this human doing?"
"Why has the music ..."
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25. I want them answered.
Copy !req
26. Now I'm going to have
to think a bit.
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27. I need to think for a moment.
Copy !req
28. Film Jorgen a bit
in the meantime.
Copy !req
29. Good to have a cigar like this.
Because it is...
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30. it keeps you occupied.
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31. Manually.
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32. While you think. I have a
cigar in Haiti after supper.
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33. As a real treat,
I have a Havana.
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34. - Where is Cuba in relation to ...?
- Cuba is very near Haiti.
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35. I've never been to Cuba.
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36. So the film must be shot in Cuba.
Obviously.
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37. Carsten? Will the budget allow
the first film to be shot in Cuba?
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38. Whether you go and
how you work will be up to you.
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39. I'd prefer to build a room there.
Or we could use a screen.
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40. What a pity ...
In that case you can't do that.
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41. Really? I'd better not tell you
what I am going to do, then...
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42. - You've said it.
- No set...
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43. - OK.
- Right.
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44. Don't say any more, Jorgen.
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45. I can't wait to see the film.
It'll be fantastic!
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46. - That's the first one, then.
- Yes. Bon voyage, Jorgen.
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47. See you in ... well...
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48. It's completely insane!
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49. No edit more than 12 frames long!
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50. Damn it...
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51. It's totally destructive.
Copy !req
52. What the hell
does he expect me to do?
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53. He's ruining it from the start!
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54. It'll be a spastic film.
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55. This is too hard.
It really is.
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56. Just the odd car.
Just the odd car.
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57. Another one.
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58. Along the waterfront.
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59. It's ridiculous getting up so early.
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60. Look! She is going to lie down.
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61. How will she lie down?
She lies down like that.
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62. Like that.
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63. We're in Cuba.
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64. We're going for a real hombre.
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65. Hombre cubano.
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66. - What's her name?
- Vivian.
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67. She looks nice.
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68. We'll just wait for Dan.
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69. - Have they explained?
- No, not yet.
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70. She looks great.
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71. I'm Dan.
The photographer.
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72. She's a dancer.
Copy !req
73. - The others will be here later.
- So we don't have to decide yet.
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74. Does she know the phone number?
Jose knows.
Copy !req
75. We are going to watch
the perfect human at work.
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76. How does such
a human work?
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77. We're going to look and see.
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78. We're going to investigate.
We're going to see -
Copy !req
79. what the perfect human
looks like and what it can do.
Copy !req
80. He's brought the photos
of the second woman.
Copy !req
81. He says it's a bad photo
and that she is very beautiful.
Copy !req
82. She certainly is.
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83. And he says she's got nice ... tits.
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84. My goodness!
Copy !req
85. - And then there are these.
- I don't think we'll want them.
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86. No ... no.
Copy !req
87. Will it work, Dan? In Claus Nissen's
original he wipes it on paper.
Copy !req
88. But it looks messy.
Copy !req
89. He could have a bowl
of water off camera.
Copy !req
90. Also today
I experienced something -
Copy !req
91. that I hope to understand
in a few days.
Copy !req
92. Around my left hand a circle of
blurred white flames was shining.
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93. I observed carefully the left side
of my own dark jacket.
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94. In the centre of my heart
there was a tiny white point.
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95. I don't know what it means.
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96. We've got things under control,
I reckon.
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97. The 12 frames
are a paper tiger!
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98. You've no idea what
it'll be like using 12 frames?
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99. No. I certainly haven't.
I certainly haven't.
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100. Hello...
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101. Jorgen! You're looking great.
That's not good.
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102. Bad sign!
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103. You ought to look battered.
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104. People who've been tripped up
look battered.
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105. Like I should've been walking on
crutches.
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106. I can't wait to show it
to you, I must say.
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107. - I'm already skeptical.
- Of course you are.
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108. - I can't see how you ...
- No, you can't.
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109. You can't imagine
how we worked round things.
Copy !req
110. One always feels furious when it
turns out that there are solutions.
Copy !req
111. - 12 frames ...
- That was vicious of me.
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112. Satanic.
Copy !req
113. And I had to answer
the questions in the narration.
Copy !req
114. Somewhere I'd never been before,
namely Cuba.
Copy !req
115. And we weren't allowed
to build a set.
Copy !req
116. Four ... that's quite a few
obstacles for a single obstruction!
Copy !req
117. Maybe. Next time
we'll have to use a few more.
Copy !req
118. Be careful, Jorgen!
Copy !req
119. You've already exposed yourself!
Copy !req
120. I've been warned not
to expose myself straight away.
Copy !req
121. And so you start by doing so.
Copy !req
122. Next time we'll use
five obstructions.
Copy !req
123. - I'm ready if you are.
- I'm ready to show you.
Copy !req
124. The first obstruction.
Copy !req
125. Cuba ... Cuba.
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126. Havana. Cigar. Man. Woman.
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127. Havana. Cuba.
Copy !req
128. This voice is saying these words.
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129. Woman. Cigar.
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130. Man.
Copy !req
131. Here is the perfect human.
Copy !req
132. Here is the perfect human.
Copy !req
133. We are going to investigate what the
perfect human looks like and can do.
Copy !req
134. We are looking
at the perfect human being.
Copy !req
135. The perfect human
is getting undressed.
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136. Tie, jacket.
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137. Shoes.
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138. Trousers.
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139. Shirt.
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140. Movement.
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141. Here is the perfect human.
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142. Here is the perfect human.
Copy !req
143. We are looking at the perfect human.
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144. We are looking at the perfect human.
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145. An eye.
Look at this human's eye.
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146. And now a mouth.
A mouth.
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147. The perfect human is moving
in a room.
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148. There is music in the room.
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149. There isn't any music in the room.
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150. There is music in the room.
This is how he moves.
Copy !req
151. Why is he moving like that?
Copy !req
152. Because women like it
when he moves like that.
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153. An ear.
That's what an ear looks like.
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154. Again, an ear.
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155. And again, a mouth.
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156. Footsteps.
She lies down.
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157. How will she lie down?
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158. She lies down like this.
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159. This is how she lies down.
Copy !req
160. What is the perfect human thinking?
Copy !req
161. Is he thinking about happiness?
Death? Love?
Copy !req
162. About what he is going
to do tonight?
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163. About the woman, perhaps?
Copy !req
164. About what it's like
to touch her skin.
Copy !req
165. Maybe he is thinking about her
eyes, her legs, her mouth.
Copy !req
166. Perhaps he is thinking about
what she said to him.
Copy !req
167. Her words.
Copy !req
168. Also today
I experienced something -
Copy !req
169. that I hope to understand
in a few days.
Copy !req
170. Around my left hand -
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171. - a circle -
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172. of blurred white flames
was shining.
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173. I observed carefully -
Copy !req
174. the left side
of my own dark jacket.
Copy !req
175. In the centre of my heart there
was a tiny white point.
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176. I don't know -
Copy !req
177. what it means.
Copy !req
178. Also today
I experienced something -
Copy !req
179. that I hope to understand
in a few days.
Copy !req
180. Yes ... I made a complete mess
of those obstructions.
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181. Yes.
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182. - The 12 frames were a gift!
- Yes. That's how I took them.
Copy !req
183. It was like watching
an old Leth film! Interesting!
Copy !req
184. Well, Jorgen,
so far you have passed the test.
Copy !req
185. - I'm pleased to hear it.
- So I've made us a little snack.
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186. Good!
Copy !req
187. And a little vodka
I'm specially looking forward to.
Copy !req
188. I've got a penchant for alcohol,
as you know.
Copy !req
189. - Always before 12 noon.
- That's when it works best.
Copy !req
190. - Wow, caviar! How splendid!
- We should use bone spoons.
Copy !req
191. Using metal for caviar
is completely wrong.
Copy !req
192. We're going to have to
have you really on the ropes.
Copy !req
193. It's up to you how much
you want to help me or not.
Copy !req
194. - I think you should help me.
- So you say.
Copy !req
195. But...
Copy !req
196. I think I should take care
not to give you any cards.
Copy !req
197. Because you'll inevitably
use them against me.
Copy !req
198. It's similar to therapy -
Copy !req
199. where you might
say the same applies.
Copy !req
200. But why go? If you don't give
the therapist the cards?
Copy !req
201. My plan is to proceed from
the perfect to the human, right?
Copy !req
202. That's my agenda.
Copy !req
203. Actually I want to "banalize" you.
But how the hell do we do that?
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204. - I don't know.
- No, you don't.
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205. But that's what
I want you to help me to do.
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206. We may be able to do so by finding
things that hurt. Like the 12 frames.
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207. I can't identify
my soft spots in advance.
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208. - The 12 frames were a soft spot.
- Absolutely.
Copy !req
209. The highly affected
distance you maintain -
Copy !req
210. to the things you describe...
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211. That's what I want to get rid of
in my next obstruction.
Copy !req
212. - It's not merely a pose.
- Not at all.
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213. But I'd like to put
your ethics to the test.
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214. - Yes.
- That might be interesting.
Copy !req
215. We talk so much about
the ethics of the observer...
Copy !req
216. The observer is my role, of course.
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217. - It's my instinct.
- I want to move you on from there.
Copy !req
218. To make you empathize.
Copy !req
219. I'd like to send you to
the most miserable place on earth.
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220. That won't cause you any problems.
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221. You're good at going to
the most miserable places.
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222. As long as there is a hotel.
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223. I can't say. It's up to you to
define the most miserable place.
Copy !req
224. Can you think of any places,
any themes one cannot exploit? No.
Copy !req
225. - No, not off hand.
- No.
Copy !req
226. Not off hand.
But I'm not that uncivilized.
Copy !req
227. I may say there are no limits.
But there might be situations...
Copy !req
228. Would you film a dying child
in a refugee camp -
Copy !req
229. and add the words from
A Perfect Human?
Copy !req
230. No, I wouldn't.
I'm not perverse.
Copy !req
231. There is a degree
of perversion in...
Copy !req
232. - In maintaining a distance?
- In the way you do things.
Copy !req
233. How far are you prepared to go if
you're not describing something?
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234. It'd be worth
a laboratory experiment.
Copy !req
235. Would anything rub off?
Copy !req
236. I want you to go close to
a few really harrowing things.
Copy !req
237. Dramas from real life
that you refrain from filming.
Copy !req
238. - You've done so before.
- Yes, it's a fascinating discipline.
Copy !req
239. How close can you get?
And when you come back -
Copy !req
240. - you have to tell the story.
- Let's say the man is you.
Copy !req
241. You play Claus Nissen.
Copy !req
242. The meal will be there
but not the woman.
Copy !req
243. It'll be rather Pinter-like,
having her not there.
Copy !req
244. But the meal will be there.
Copy !req
245. - Have you thought it over?
- Yes, I think I have.
Copy !req
246. Also today
I experienced something -
Copy !req
247. that I hope to understand
in a few days.
Copy !req
248. Lars von Trier has
this romantic notion -
Copy !req
249. - that I'll be so affected -
Copy !req
250. - by being placed in a situation
where a social drama is going on -
Copy !req
251. beside you.
Copy !req
252. He wants to quantify -
Copy !req
253. how much it rubs off,
how much it affects me.
Copy !req
254. Will it be visible?
Will it be quantifiable?
Copy !req
255. But I think it's pure romanticism.
Copy !req
256. Obviously
there is no physiological law.
Copy !req
257. There is
no physical law that states -
Copy !req
258. - that you can witness so much -
Copy !req
259. that you reach the limit where
you break down.
Copy !req
260. We're on our way to the
red light district, Falkland Road.
Copy !req
261. It's a horror scene
that I saw a few years ago.
Copy !req
262. Do you have ten rupees?
Copy !req
263. It's unfortunate
I can't open the window.
Copy !req
264. That's the kind of scene
Lars von Trier wants.
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265. That's what he'd like.
That scene.
Copy !req
266. Damn it! And he can have it.
Copy !req
267. Damn it! And he can have it.
Copy !req
268. It'll be a tough film to make.
Copy !req
269. It's a tough challenge.
Because...
Copy !req
270. no matter what we film, no matter
what I say to you, to the camera, -
Copy !req
271. it will still be a game.
Copy !req
272. It will still involve
stepping right up close -
Copy !req
273. and then showing that distance.
Copy !req
274. I am so cool.
I can go through with it.
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275. It doesn't bother me
to play the perfect human -
Copy !req
276. against practically
any background.
Copy !req
277. That's just the way it is.
Copy !req
278. Why is joy so whimsical?
Why is happiness so brief?
Copy !req
279. Why did you leave me?
Copy !req
280. I'd get into deep water
if I tried to imitate him.
Copy !req
281. But he is my model.
It is his scene.
Copy !req
282. A scene I wrote for him but
which he completely improvised.
Copy !req
283. I didn't write it.
I didn't write it.
Copy !req
284. I didn't ask him to do what he did.
I told him to eat -
Copy !req
285. - and finish the scene.
- That was all. Just eat.
Copy !req
286. That's why I regard Claus Nissen
as such an eminent actor.
Copy !req
287. He plays with emptiness,
plays with nothing.
Copy !req
288. He plays with the fragments
and crumbs he can find.
Copy !req
289. Ingenious.
What he does is ingenious.
Copy !req
290. Walks, runs, jumps, falls.
Copy !req
291. Walks, lies down, lies down.
Copy !req
292. - Any corrections?
- It looks great. How about falling?
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293. - What?
- Falling. Like he does.
Copy !req
294. I can't ... Fall down there?
No, I bloody well can't!
Copy !req
295. - Are you chickening out?
- I can't do that. Hell, no!
Copy !req
296. No!
Copy !req
297. I could try falling here...
Copy !req
298. "And this is how he falls."
Copy !req
299. Terrible.
Really terrible.
Copy !req
300. "Gets up again ... gets up again."
Copy !req
301. "Gets up."
Copy !req
302. We'll have to do it
at the very end, that's for sure.
Copy !req
303. We'll have to remember to do it.
Copy !req
304. How does he fall?
This is how he falls.
Copy !req
305. Are you taking
some Valium along tomorrow?
Copy !req
306. Yes, I am.
Copy !req
307. Just to be on the safe side.
Copy !req
308. I don't take it regularly.
Not at all.
Copy !req
309. But things may get so enervating -
Copy !req
310. that it'll be good to have
some in my bag just in case.
Copy !req
311. If I can't ... if I can't control
my nerves or something.
Copy !req
312. Now I'm just waiting
for Dan to send for me.
Copy !req
313. Then I'll go over,
take the cork out of the Chablis, -
Copy !req
314. and move some fish onto my plate
and maybe even eat a little of it.
Copy !req
315. - I'm ready for that.
- No Valium?
Copy !req
316. No Valium.
Copy !req
317. The transparent screen
we stretched out -
Copy !req
318. - provided an image area, -
Copy !req
319. - a framing of reality, -
Copy !req
320. which was both concrete
and incredibly subtle and artful.
Copy !req
321. It was a very elegant,
playful response -
Copy !req
322. - to the whole idea of the project -
Copy !req
323. - which involved the distance
that had been introduced -
Copy !req
324. and which we wanted to minimize
during this particular obstruction.
Copy !req
325. We wanted to minimize the distance
between the perfect and the human.
Copy !req
326. Also today I experienced
something -
Copy !req
327. that I hope to understand
in a few days.
Copy !req
328. Around my right hand -
Copy !req
329. a circle of
blurred white flames was shining.
Copy !req
330. I observed carefully -
Copy !req
331. the left side
of my own dark jacket.
Copy !req
332. In the centre of my heart
there was a tiny white point.
Copy !req
333. I don't know what it means.
Copy !req
334. The perfect human has
to eat and drink.
Copy !req
335. We are going to watch a meal.
Copy !req
336. The wine looks splendid
in the glass.
Copy !req
337. And onto the plate -
Copy !req
338. lovely fish, with rice,
onions, lemon, and a green sauce.
Copy !req
339. With it,
a bottle of Chablis.
Copy !req
340. How does the perfect human eat?
Copy !req
341. The fish is a beautiful sight
on a table.
Copy !req
342. It deserves to lie on silver.
Copy !req
343. Dinner is served.
Copy !req
344. Now the meal must go,
piece by piece, -
Copy !req
345. into the mouth.
Copy !req
346. It tastes good
and its consistency is good.
Copy !req
347. Bon appetit!
Copy !req
348. Why is joy so whimsical?
Happiness so brief?
Copy !req
349. Why did you leave me?
Why did you go away?
Copy !req
350. Very, very, very tasty.
Copy !req
351. Also today
I experienced something -
Copy !req
352. that I hope to understand
in a few days.
Copy !req
353. Don't get your hopes up of
understanding in a few days!
Copy !req
354. No.
Copy !req
355. I'm sorry, Jorgen, but I am
going to have to speak harshly.
Copy !req
356. Regrettably.
You know how fond I am of you -
Copy !req
357. and how little I want to.
Copy !req
358. - It was not the film I asked for.
- I'll be damned! Let's hear why not.
Copy !req
359. One of the rules I asked for was
that we shouldn't see those people.
Copy !req
360. Yes, but I interpreted
that loosely.
Copy !req
361. I have to say I disapprove.
Copy !req
362. I'm going to have
to send you back, you know.
Copy !req
363. - You can't ...
- I'm afraid I'll have to.
Copy !req
364. I'm afraid I have no option.
Copy !req
365. - It's a place I can't go back to.
- Find somewhere worse, then.
Copy !req
366. The whole idea was
that we mustn't see them.
Copy !req
367. I am disappointed, Jorgen.
I am disappointed.
Copy !req
368. I thought it was
a highly successful balancing act.
Copy !req
369. It's a marvelous film.
I love it.
Copy !req
370. But I don't think
it followed the rules.
Copy !req
371. Obviously this is a sophistic game.
Copy !req
372. I put up a screen and screened off
this bit of real life.
Copy !req
373. And Dan Holmberg had
the ingenious idea -
Copy !req
374. of making
the screen transparent.
Copy !req
375. I do understand. And this film
is most likely much better -
Copy !req
376. - than the other would be.
- But I asked for the other one.
Copy !req
377. Maybe we can make it differently.
Copy !req
378. One always tries
to make a better film...
Copy !req
379. That's what you mustn't do.
You always try to be too good.
Copy !req
380. This is therapy, not a film
competition with yourself.
Copy !req
381. You've made the best film.
I assume the best was the first.
Copy !req
382. There's no doubt
that that is the film.
Copy !req
383. We're using it to go back in time -
Copy !req
384. to see where we can goad you
and examine it.
Copy !req
385. When I left here last time
I was in shock.
Copy !req
386. I thought "It's impossible!"
Copy !req
387. "Yet another suicidal situation!"
Copy !req
388. "It's too hard.
I've no desire to do it."
Copy !req
389. "How can I find the desire?"
It was really harsh of you.
Copy !req
390. Even so, an idea soon came to me.
Copy !req
391. I asked myself, "Where are
the most awful places I've seen?"
Copy !req
392. The first place to occur to me
was a horrific experience -
Copy !req
393. - of the red light district, Bombay.
- I'd seen it a few years previously.
Copy !req
394. I'd seen it 6 or 7 years ago.
Copy !req
395. I thought it
a horror beyond compare.
Copy !req
396. The kind of thing
you run away from, screaming.
Copy !req
397. I am not afraid of
prostitutes in general.
Copy !req
398. But this was a picture from hell.
Copy !req
399. We shot the film. I was
cold-blooded and had no scruples.
Copy !req
400. I thought "Damn it, we can do this."
Copy !req
401. Then I had a night after that.
Two nights.
Copy !req
402. I had one of those rare nightmares
you remember when you wake up.
Copy !req
403. The analytical
thought occurred to me -
Copy !req
404. that there was something
Faust-like about it. A pact.
Copy !req
405. Something diabolical,
some kind of alchemy.
Copy !req
406. By going to the limits -
Copy !req
407. - you also pay the price
of going to the point -
Copy !req
408. where fear transforms
into madness, to put it bluntly.
Copy !req
409. where fear transforms
into madness, to put it bluntly.
Copy !req
410. When you have
to avoid sleep -
Copy !req
411. so as not to fall back into that
nightmare, you're in deep shit.
Copy !req
412. You are my hero.
There's no doubt about it.
Copy !req
413. - That was the background.
- I'd never dare anything like it.
Copy !req
414. - But I didn't expose myself enough?
- You really exposed yourself.
Copy !req
415. But I don't think you were true
to what mattered most to me.
Copy !req
416. - I wasn't true to the idea?
- No.
Copy !req
417. OK, that's a harsh statement.
How about reconsidering?
Copy !req
418. - I have considered.
- When did you do that?
Copy !req
419. Since I saw the film.
I have to think the way I do.
Copy !req
420. I'm sorry. It's not just
because I'm being stubborn.
Copy !req
421. Make the same film again,
but with a background.
Copy !req
422. It'd be deadly to do
the same thing again.
Copy !req
423. - With me again, for example.
- Maybe.
Copy !req
424. - I don't want to. I can't.
- You've put me into a spot.
Copy !req
425. We haven't achieved what I wanted.
Copy !req
426. So I have to punish you somehow.
Copy !req
427. What should the punishment be?
Copy !req
428. What should it be?
It should fit the crime.
Copy !req
429. Yes, but what kind of method
should be applied?
Copy !req
430. I can't say. I prefer you
to make the decisions.
Copy !req
431. So make a film
with no rules from me!
Copy !req
432. That would be mean.
That would be no good.
Copy !req
433. That's the way it's going
to have to be, Jorgen.
Copy !req
434. I am sorry, but to
assert my authority -
Copy !req
435. - I'll have to ask you to make that
film again the way you think best -
Copy !req
436. - The Perfect Human in 2002.
- Just make it.
Copy !req
437. - How diabolical!
- Yes!
Copy !req
438. - And I'll have to ...
- You're entirely free.
Copy !req
439. - That seems to be the meanest way.
- Teacher is offended.
Copy !req
440. Yes, and your punishment
is to make a free-style film.
Copy !req
441. I don't like it. I'd rather
have something to hang onto.
Copy !req
442. All right, shoot it in Bombay against
a white wall, or do it your way.
Copy !req
443. I don't know what to say.
Apart from the fact that...
Copy !req
444. - It's below the belt.
- It is.
Copy !req
445. It certainly is.
Copy !req
446. - That's how it's got to be.
- It's bad.
Copy !req
447. All I can say is "Good luck."
Copy !req
448. Listen to the sound of the human
attending to personal hygiene.
Copy !req
449. Listen to the perfect human living,
listen to its sounds.
Copy !req
450. What is this human thinking about?
Copy !req
451. Where is it?
Copy !req
452. I'll just phone Marianne.
Copy !req
453. Marianne, I'm trying
to find out where it is.
Copy !req
454. Oh, here. There's 60.
Copy !req
455. So I have to carry on.
Copy !req
456. Yes, it's down there.
Copy !req
457. Where can I get down to
the next floor, Madame?
Copy !req
458. It must be around here.
Copy !req
459. What is the perfect human like
to touch?
Copy !req
460. What is the skin like?
Is it smooth? Is it warm?
Copy !req
461. Is it soft? Is it dry?
Copy !req
462. Is it well cared-for?
Copy !req
463. What is the skin on the chin like?
Copy !req
464. What is it like
on the legs?
Copy !req
465. On the arms? On the throat?
Copy !req
466. I'm really pleased with him.
He looks great.
Copy !req
467. His attitude to
the job is refreshing.
Copy !req
468. He is well ...
well bruised as a person.
Copy !req
469. He has experience of life.
Copy !req
470. He has lived a life.
His story is fantastic.
Copy !req
471. He played the lead in
La collectionneuse, -
Copy !req
472. Erik Rohmer's
most important film.
Copy !req
473. The Nymphomaniac,
as it was known in Denmark.
Copy !req
474. They can be moved at random.
Copy !req
475. Magic chairs, eh?
Copy !req
476. I see it as a kind
of ghostly ballet -
Copy !req
477. with the chairs.
Copy !req
478. We know it's a set-up.
Copy !req
479. We go up to them and move
them around ... haphazardly.
Copy !req
480. Into a new, interesting arrangement.
Copy !req
481. It may be best
if they're facing the front.
Copy !req
482. But we can do as we please.
Copy !req
483. "Somebody has moved them
around in the dark," right?
Copy !req
484. A mystery.
Copy !req
485. That's the idea we're
keeping from the original scene.
Copy !req
486. And he'll end up
sitting on one of them.
Copy !req
487. Look, this is what an ear looks like.
And here's a pair of knees.
Copy !req
488. And here is a foot.
Again, an ear.
Copy !req
489. Here's an eye.
Look at this human's eye.
Copy !req
490. And here comes a mouth.
Copy !req
491. A mouth.
And again, a mouth.
Copy !req
492. "Repetez plusieurs fois."
A woman on a chair in a room.
Copy !req
493. She does nothing.
She gets up.
Copy !req
494. She leaves the frame. Repeated
several times. We've shot that.
Copy !req
495. Strange cars arriving
at a group of buildings.
Copy !req
496. A wood, a field, a beach.
Copy !req
497. We haven't done that yet.
Copy !req
498. A house lit up in the darkness.
Copy !req
499. Murmuring in the darkness.
Copy !req
500. Piano music ... we'll make that fit.
Copy !req
501. But this one... On the back seat,
a woman, lets herself be undressed...
Copy !req
502. We've done that.
We certainly have.
Copy !req
503. It's very much a dialogue, -
Copy !req
504. playing back and
forth across the net.
Copy !req
505. He serves hard
and we return as hard as nails.
Copy !req
506. That's the way it is.
Copy !req
507. He serves hard again.
A deadly serve.
Copy !req
508. And we have to pull our best shot
out of the bag to return his serve.
Copy !req
509. - You say you've something for me?
- Yes.
Copy !req
510. The third obstruction.
Copy !req
511. If you're ready
to show me, I'm ready to watch.
Copy !req
512. Right then.
Copy !req
513. Also today
I experienced something -
Copy !req
514. that I hope to understand
in a few days.
Copy !req
515. Hello, M. Rukov.
How are you?
Copy !req
516. Are there any messages for 411?
Copy !req
517. No, not at present, I am afraid.
Copy !req
518. Me, I am a woman
One of the best
Copy !req
519. One of the richest in love
Copy !req
520. One of the most experienced.
Copy !req
521. Me, who is always loyal
Me, who is always friendly
Copy !req
522. Me, who is always sensitive
Me, who is very much in love
Copy !req
523. Me, who is very elegant
Copy !req
524. I am one
of the most beautiful women
Copy !req
525. I have lots of affection
for other people
Copy !req
526. I have a lot of feeling
Copy !req
527. I am a woman
with great strength of spirit
Copy !req
528. With the three films you've made
not a mark has been left on you.
Copy !req
529. They may have hurt,
but you're unmarked.
Copy !req
530. I want us to figure out how to make
a film that leaves a mark on you.
Copy !req
531. But not if you don't
want to, of course.
Copy !req
532. You may prefer to regard it
like working with an actor.
Copy !req
533. Where you push me to extremes...
Copy !req
534. The greatest gift an actor
can give you is to screw up.
Copy !req
535. I want the same kind of gift
as I get from an actor -
Copy !req
536. - when he does a scene
in a way he hates -
Copy !req
537. - but which is great for me because
it came as if through the machine -
Copy !req
538. - that the actor is
in that situation, -
Copy !req
539. and in which he has
done the good stuff, too.
Copy !req
540. It's like chopping
cabbage in the mincer -
Copy !req
541. after making vanilla biscuits
in order to clean it.
Copy !req
542. - To clean it.
- Yes.
Copy !req
543. The last crumbs would be forced out
that nobody liked.
Copy !req
544. As a kind of sacrifice to this film -
Copy !req
545. I'd like to achieve that feeling
of a tortoise on its back.
Copy !req
546. Yes. "Tortoise."
I'll write it down.
Copy !req
547. The trouble is you're so clever
that whatever I say inspires you.
Copy !req
548. - Yes. I can't help it.
- No, we can't avoid it.
Copy !req
549. But if you think about
the technique you use...
Copy !req
550. It's inclination.
Copy !req
551. I isolate places and things that
I want to examine precisely.
Copy !req
552. That's my method.
I frame them precisely.
Copy !req
553. I wait for the right moment.
Copy !req
554. As you know, I believe strongly
in waiting and observing.
Copy !req
555. What the hell do I do
when I am at work?
Copy !req
556. What is it that means everything?
Copy !req
557. Because sometimes everything
suddenly turns out to be crap.
Copy !req
558. Pure crap. And when I ask why, -
Copy !req
559. the answer is because of
something I couldn't control.
Copy !req
560. It's of no interest
if control is the only thing.
Copy !req
561. I believe blindly that if
you arrange a sluice or a frame -
Copy !req
562. something will happen
that you can't control.
Copy !req
563. I love it when things
get out of control.
Copy !req
564. I'm going to make a very, very,
very simple rule for the next film.
Copy !req
565. I can't imagine
it'll be anything but crap.
Copy !req
566. No.
Copy !req
567. And let's say
it'll be all right if it is crap.
Copy !req
568. I'd be thrilled if it was crap.
But there is one single condition.
Copy !req
569. It's got to be a cartoon.
Copy !req
570. Yes.
Copy !req
571. The great advantage
of doing it as a cartoon -
Copy !req
572. is that you'll be faced
with loads of decisions.
Copy !req
573. The aesthetics and all that.
It can only turn out to be crap.
Copy !req
574. - I hate cartoons.
- I hate cartoons, too.
Copy !req
575. - I hate cartoons.
- I hate cartoons.
Copy !req
576. I can't be bothered to invent
the technology or learn about it.
Copy !req
577. Absolutely not.
Copy !req
578. Nor will I spend time at a stupid
drawing board or whatever.
Copy !req
579. No damned way.
Copy !req
580. No.
Copy !req
581. Hi. Things are going well.
I'm in the taxi.
Copy !req
582. It's pretty wild.
I've got to make a cartoon.
Copy !req
583. I've got to make a cartoon.
Yes.
Copy !req
584. Yes. Yes, it's way out of line.
Copy !req
585. Yes, just out of his head came
this idea of a cartoon.
Copy !req
586. I said "I hate cartoons."
I've never seen one I liked.
Copy !req
587. And he said he felt exactly the same
way; he doesn't like cartoons at all.
Copy !req
588. Not at all.
Copy !req
589. So, you know ... I could
see the logic of it, damn it.
Copy !req
590. So ... you know...
Copy !req
591. We discussed it. I'm not allowed
to use any clever artistic devices.
Copy !req
592. You know, like Picasso -
Copy !req
593. or casual brush strokes.
Copy !req
594. It has to be a cartoon
of the kind we don't like.
Copy !req
595. Yes, damn it,
I am being serious!
Copy !req
596. We mustn't film anything new.
Copy !req
597. Let's turn that to our advantage.
Copy !req
598. OK, we mustn't use anything new.
We'll use some old stuff -
Copy !req
599. but it mustn't look as
if it's been recycled or repeated.
Copy !req
600. We'll use it actively.
We'll write a new text into it, -
Copy !req
601. a new context,
and breathe freshness into it.
Copy !req
602. It's not exactly what
Lars von Trier has asked us to do.
Copy !req
603. On the contrary. He might prefer
not to have any freshness, -
Copy !req
604. - inspiration, ideas or poetry.
- He'd like it to be sloppy or stupid.
Copy !req
605. It ought to be stupid.
But I can't do that. I refuse to.
Copy !req
606. We must make something of it.
Copy !req
607. I think it's an interesting exercise,
actually.
Copy !req
608. That's what I feel at the moment.
Copy !req
609. We're on our way
to meet Bob Sabiston.
Copy !req
610. It'll be exciting.
Copy !req
611. We're all tense and excited.
Copy !req
612. He received Camilla's film
sequences a few days ago, -
Copy !req
613. - I got them three days ago, -
Copy !req
614. and you haven't seen them at all.
Copy !req
615. We know that
we want him to suggest ways -
Copy !req
616. of making a cartoon
based on The Perfect Human.
Copy !req
617. Has he already got a few ideas?
Has he anything to show us?
Copy !req
618. It'll be exciting to meet him.
Copy !req
619. A man we contacted simply
because of his reputation, -
Copy !req
620. and with whom
we have corresponded.
Copy !req
621. That's the solution
we have come up with.
Copy !req
622. Do you think
it will be crap this time?
Copy !req
623. No, I don't think so.
Copy !req
624. I think we'll make
something interesting.
Copy !req
625. Lars von Trier may well
be very disappointed.
Copy !req
626. Or furious.
Or however he reacts!
Copy !req
627. Although we can't control it entirely
and cartoons are boring, -
Copy !req
628. - we can't help becoming involved
instinctively -
Copy !req
629. and looking for a solution
that nevertheless satisfies us.
Copy !req
630. So I'm afraid
it won't be a load of crap.
Copy !req
631. Look ... the perfect human
is moving in a room.
Copy !req
632. The perfect human
can move in a room.
Copy !req
633. The room has no limits.
It is brilliantly lit.
Copy !req
634. It is an empty room.
Copy !req
635. Here there are no limits.
Here there is nothing.
Copy !req
636. - Hi, Jorgen.
- Hi, Lars.
Copy !req
637. I've phoned you because we're
going to watch your little film.
Copy !req
638. - Yes, we are.
- Are you ready?
Copy !req
639. I can't wait! It's ready and
I can't wait to show it to you.
Copy !req
640. - You sound a little too happy.
- I am very pleased with it.
Copy !req
641. But I await your judgement.
Copy !req
642. Shall we watch it?
Copy !req
643. Yes. I'm ready to start.
Copy !req
644. I'm pressing PLAY now.
Copy !req
645. Me, too.
Copy !req
646. Disinclination.
Copy !req
647. Disinclination.
Copy !req
648. I am smoking a cigarette.
Copy !req
649. I am thinking about you.
Copy !req
650. I am thinking about your knee.
Copy !req
651. The feeling of holding you
behind the knee.
Copy !req
652. I am smoking a cigarette.
Copy !req
653. Also today
I experienced something -
Copy !req
654. that I hope to understand
in a few days.
Copy !req
655. Around my left hand a circle of
blurred white flames was shining.
Copy !req
656. In the centre of my heart
there was a tiny white point.
Copy !req
657. I don't know what it means.
Copy !req
658. We've finished, Jorgen.
Copy !req
659. Yes, so have I.
Copy !req
660. You are a tease, Jorgen.
But we'll get back to that.
Copy !req
661. I think it's a beautiful film.
Copy !req
662. It's amusing seeing him put
his jacket on several times.
Copy !req
663. It's that MTV cartoon strip universe.
It's fine.
Copy !req
664. I had prepared myself for
this situation, I must admit.
Copy !req
665. I feel obliged
to bring things full circle.
Copy !req
666. I had hoped you would.
Copy !req
667. And I do so -
Copy !req
668. because I've been the pedagogical
motive force in all this, eh?
Copy !req
669. The ultimate obstruction -
Copy !req
670. - will be
that you do nothing at all -
Copy !req
671. apart from being credited
as the director...
Copy !req
672. and you read
a narration script written by me.
Copy !req
673. That's all you have to do.
Copy !req
674. I have to say that the material
I need for the film has been shot.
Copy !req
675. It's the material we shot
while doing these obstructions.
Copy !req
676. Hopefully we captured
something human as we talked.
Copy !req
677. So that's the idea and
I can't imagine you're objecting.
Copy !req
678. Not at all.
Copy !req
679. I think it's fantastic.
Copy !req
680. You can sink back into your Haiti
depression with a clear conscience.
Copy !req
681. - OK, Lars.
- Give them all my regards.
Copy !req
682. And I'll eat the damned caviar.
Copy !req
683. Well, he was very pleased with it.
Copy !req
684. He admitted that it was a cartoon.
Copy !req
685. There was no reason -
Copy !req
686. to make a big deal
out of what we'd done.
Copy !req
687. Obviously not. No point in my
criticizing or praising my own work.
Copy !req
688. It would have been superfluous;
he had no objections.
Copy !req
689. There are just a few areas in life
on which I think I'm an expert.
Copy !req
690. One of them is Jorgen Leth.
Copy !req
691. I think I know considerably
more about him...
Copy !req
692. than he does.
Copy !req
693. So this entire project -
Copy !req
694. has been a "Help
Jorgen Leth" Project.
Copy !req
695. I have to narrate a script
Lars von Trier had written for me.
Copy !req
696. As the fifth obstruction.
Copy !req
697. He is going to direct me.
Copy !req
698. It's fiction, really.
A letter to him from me -
Copy !req
699. starting with the words
"Dear, silly Lars."
Copy !req
700. It'll be the voice over
for some sequences -
Copy !req
701. that Camilla is collecting
and assembling.
Copy !req
702. It's a very special way of doing it.
Copy !req
703. He doesn't want to see
Camilla's work -
Copy !req
704. until we meet
the day after tomorrow.
Copy !req
705. You look happier and happier...
Copy !req
706. But you'll be forcing me
to speak quickly!
Copy !req
707. Oh, no. It must come from within.
Copy !req
708. You're just like those actors,
all nervous.
Copy !req
709. Don't be. All your guilt
I have taken upon me.
Copy !req
710. You are guiltless.
You are like a little child.
Copy !req
711. You don't have to do a thing.
Copy !req
712. Those are the conditions.
No rehearsing.
Copy !req
713. Jorgen gets the rush of Sartre and
Hemmingway's historical wings -
Copy !req
714. - to waft away the discomfort
and insecurity -
Copy !req
715. because he hasn't the guts
to take wing for himself!
Copy !req
716. You put the stress on
"take wing" instead of "himself."
Copy !req
717. You're doing everything you can
to evade the text!
Copy !req
718. It's "take wing for himself."
That's the point.
Copy !req
719. You are really wriggling.
Copy !req
720. In my filmic upbringing, -
Copy !req
721. what Jorgen calls the rules of
the game have always been vital.
Copy !req
722. They are something
he introduced to my universe.
Copy !req
723. They are limitations or
self-flagellation, if you like.
Copy !req
724. I wanted to impose
this flagellation on Jorgen.
Copy !req
725. I've told you many times
"Make something that's crap."
Copy !req
726. - And I didn't ...
- So I hope this will be crap.
Copy !req
727. - It's very exciting.
- The words are powerful.
Copy !req
728. - It's been written.
- It's finished.
Copy !req
729. With a few comments about
the way the film will be edited.
Copy !req
730. Illustratively vis-a-vis the words.
Copy !req
731. That's important because it's
something I don't see you doing.
Copy !req
732. - Your rules tell you not to.
- I don't do that, no.
Copy !req
733. It'll be fun using
the visuals illustratively.
Copy !req
734. Shall we just watch it?
Copy !req
735. Dear, silly Lars,
you thought you could trip me up.
Copy !req
736. I hope you understand better now
after more than a couple of days.
Copy !req
737. You say your obstructions
had no underlying plan.
Copy !req
738. But you had a theory.
Copy !req
739. You thought, "This is Jorgen.
Just what is Jorgen?"
Copy !req
740. "Jorgen is a wretch, just like me."
Copy !req
741. He'd made the film you felt
more akin to than any other, -
Copy !req
742. "So I must be from the same
family as Jorgen."
Copy !req
743. Just as you wanted to be chastised,
you would now chastise Jorgen.
Copy !req
744. It was a personal assault.
Don't pretend it wasn't.
Copy !req
745. You thought "Jorgen is
trying to hide his true self -
Copy !req
746. behind his provocative,
perverse perfection."
Copy !req
747. "He wants to conceal
his angst -
Copy !req
748. - behind a personal fiction
of rows of Armani suits on hangers, -
Copy !req
749. protecting him through his
months of depression on Haiti."
Copy !req
750. "Jorgen gets the rush of Sartre and
Hemmingway's historical wings -
Copy !req
751. - to wave away the discomfort
and that damned insecurity -
Copy !req
752. because he hasn't the guts
to take wing for himself!"
Copy !req
753. "I see through him."
Copy !req
754. It was arrogant,
but I realize it was meant kindly.
Copy !req
755. You wanted to get
into where the scream was, -
Copy !req
756. and let it out.
Copy !req
757. "He is the most beautiful bird
but just doesn't believe it."
Copy !req
758. "I'll chase him till he takes wing."
Copy !req
759. You ordered me around
and issued prohibitions -
Copy !req
760. to distract me,
to penetrate my armor.
Copy !req
761. "We could distract Jorgen by
getting him to make a film."
Copy !req
762. "This is how the Perfect Human
makes a film, watch him now ..."
Copy !req
763. "Then he'd give himself away for
sure ... or what if I provoke him?"
Copy !req
764. "Film him with his guard up
and we'll find all the gaps."
Copy !req
765. But no matter how odd
the clarinet sounded -
Copy !req
766. you could not
see behind my eyes.
Copy !req
767. No matter how close you got -
Copy !req
768. - you couldn't see beneath
the skin of my hand -
Copy !req
769. to the nerves and
most delicate blood vessels.
Copy !req
770. Nothing was revealed
and nothing helped.
Copy !req
771. I didn't come staggering out of
the ruins to thank you, Lars.
Copy !req
772. Or did I? You've got me now.
Copy !req
773. You're forcing me to read
your words.
Copy !req
774. So let's get it over with.
Copy !req
775. Dear Lars, thank you
for your obstructions.
Copy !req
776. They've shown me what I really am,
an abject, human human.
Copy !req
777. I try to fool the world because
I don't want to be part of it.
Copy !req
778. My trick is cheap
and I repeat it endlessly.
Copy !req
779. If I go on telling
the viewer what I see, -
Copy !req
780. - like a prisoner of war repeating
his name and number, -
Copy !req
781. - without adding anything ...
emotions are far too dangerous, -
Copy !req
782. - the world and I will fall for it.
I call it art -
Copy !req
783. but I am certain
that I cannot do a thing.
Copy !req
784. I only do all this so
I can put up with myself.
Copy !req
785. My films are bluff.
A hideaway, Lars.
Copy !req
786. Thank you for chastising
me so lovingly!
Copy !req
787. Was that nice?
Does it make any difference?
Copy !req
788. Maybe you put words
into other people's mouths -
Copy !req
789. to get out of saying them yourself.
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790. No, it makes no difference,
and you know it.
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791. Your theory didn't stand up, Lars.
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792. Your pedagogical mission
didn't get to grips.
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793. My hand shook less,
obstruction by obstruction.
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794. I grew more sure
of myself as we receded -
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795. from the person my first film was
really about to anybody but you.
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796. You say
I didn't dare to find my way -
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797. - into what I so dishonestly
and skillfully conceal -
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798. and you imagine
to be so valuable.
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799. But it's no good.
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800. The dishonest person
was you, Lars.
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801. You only saw
what you wanted to see.
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802. The skepticism you felt about
yourself must go for me, too.
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803. But you exposed yourself.
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804. You wanted to make me human,
but that's what I am!
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805. You got me to play along but
you let me get on the defensive.
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806. As we all know, it's the attacker
who really exposes himself.
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807. The truth is,
you got it wrong!
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808. I obstructed you, no matter how
much you wanted the opposite.
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809. And you fell flat on your face.
How does the perfect human fall?
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810. This is how the perfect human falls.
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