EpidemicMovies can be like a vector for ideas and emotions, transmitting them into the audience and evoking a response, sometimes so strong as to be psychosomatic. But can movies transmit more than that? Epidemic is an avant-garde horror movie, one comprised of essentially two stories. First is the dramatization of real-life filmmakers Lars von Trier and Niels Vørsel (playing themselves), who struggle to create a screenplay under a tight deadline, and decide on the story of an epidemic run rampant in modern day Europe. The second story is their screenplay in action, and about the naive Dr. Mesmer (Lars von Trier), who dares to brave plague-invested zones to cure the disease.
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Lars and Niels' process to compose the story of an epidemic--their original screenplay having been deleted due to a computer error--forces them to accept that the real tale they feel compelled to tell is of the disintegration of their society by an invisible, indiscriminate force, inspired by the bubonic plague. To that end, they spend time researching the history of the plague, including omens like "rat kings"--when various rats' tails become tangled, and they starve to death as a result of the enmeshing--and the emergence of boils and the like. They consult with experts at a Danish library, navigating dank basements for the secret history of their people. They also travel to Germany, where they research how the boils look like the contents emerging from a particular brand of toothpaste--they "autopsy" the toothpaste to discover the source of the segregated stripes just like the actual autopsy Lars witnesses while Niels is staying in a hospital. They paint a timeline for the sequence of events in their film on the wall in black paint; this recalls the crosses painted on the homes of prior plague victims to mark them as contaminated. Lars even draws associations between the strains of bacteria producing the plague and the metaphorical "strains" of music from Wagner's "Tannhäuser" as he is scoring the film. During this impromptu development process, a narrator comments that within this five day period, a real plague--like the one in their film, titled "Epidemic"--is preparing to be unleashed. The implication is that Lars and Niels are like sorcerers who inadvertently conjure up a plague from their imaginations, that their actions to create a fictional disease crosses the boundary between fantasy and reality. Epidemic is the second part of Lars von Trier's self-proclaimed "Europa Trilogy", which includes the former The Element of Crime and latter, Europa. All three films deal with the concept of hypnosis, and how it alters one's perception of reality, and by extension, warps one's place in it as well. Examples of when these themes are explored include when Lars counts to ten (not unlike his narrator in Europa putting the protagonist into a hypnotic slumber), or even the name of the protagonist in the fictional "Epidemic", Dr. Mesmer, which comes from "mesmerism", or hypnosis. And after the dinner party where Lars and Niels must produce their concept to their contact, Claes, a young woman named Gitte enters a climactic hypnotic state so that she can "cross over" into the world of the movie which doesn't even exist yet.
In the creative duo's story, Dr. Mesmer is the unwitting cipher carrying the strain of the contagion out into the world, not the other way around, subverting his purpose and mission as a doctor intending to save people. Similarly, as Lars and Niels travel on their own quest of discovery, their efforts to produce something beneficial (or at least entertaining), seems to appear as whimsical and almost too casual of an effort, since when they are not researching, they are spending their time socially, discussing unrelated topics or only addressing their prime concern in an ancillary way. There are many smaller moments--like the kind which Claes claims are popular in Danish cinema--which include the two men connecting with other people. For example, they meet with Udo Kier, who tells them a tragic story about his birth during a fire bombing in World War II, and the ghastly story his mother confessed to him before her recent passing. One scene has them discussing various kinds of wine in preparation for their important dinner party with Claes, and a good deal of conversation is given to pairings and varietals--they also talk of how a plague which infected the grapes centuries past has left its mark. One of the more fascinating moments is when Niels talks of how he became involved in a large-scale exchanging of letters with teenage girls in Atlantic City, forcing awkward meetings like one he has in a hotel lobby with a girl and her aunt, as well as a kindly cassette tape one teenager sent him in lieu of a letter. What is interesting about all of these moments are that they are like small "infections" of humanity, and they illuminate the network that exists in society which both connects us all and are also avenues which allow disease and contagion to spread and intermingle. An earlier conversation includes talk of how during the Black Death, Milan isolated itself almost entirely, and quarantined its infected few. It is said that they escaped the brunt of the plague, but upon a further outbreak, they suffered worse as a result. The suggestion here is that even combating the incursion of undesirable elements by a paranoid kind of isolation may be a short-term solution, but cannot be sustained, and makes you vulnerable to other threats. That said, it's still arguably better than dying to a plague sooner, so in typical Lars von Trier cynicism, there is no real "winning".
Lars von Trier is sometimes regarded as an "enfant terrible" of independent cinema, who apparently delights in prodding his audience with experimental, avant-garde works that thrill those who find his work palatable and exciting, and infuriate those who do not or lack that kind of sense of adventure. Known for his involvement in the so-called "Dogme 95" film movement--one which, in short, suggests a reduction in unnatural elements that otherwise detract from a kind of "purity" in cinema--Epidemic is ironically one of the more experimental films of Lars von Trier. Filmed in black and white, and given to a grainy, oversaturated look, Epidemic feels very raw and unfiltered, even reminiscent of David Lynch's Eraserhead in a way. The film is highly self-aware from the start--even the original screenplay which is deleted is titled "The Cop and the Whore", likely a nod to the plot of von Trier's prior film, The Element of Crime. From the time that Lars and Niels decide to write about an epidemic and type the title on their screenplay, the logo is emblazoned in bright red letters in the upper left of the film for the rest of it, complete with a "trademark", in Courier typeface. The effect is more than a mere framing device; it is a false border to separate the film from the "film"--that is to say the story of the writers versus the story of Dr. Mesmer. Lars and Niels story is spoken in their native Danish; however, "Epidemic" is performed in English--Lars von Trier has often said that he prefers his films to be in English so as to not be compartmentalized as "foreign films". This differentiation helps to distinguish when moments are about the process versus the plot of the film in progress; this is also useful because Lars von Trier plays two different characters. But even these conventions are like a houses of cards which Lars von Trier delightfully topples, gleefully toying with our expectations. Lars and Niels' presentation to Claes is a laughably paltry twelve to fifteen pages, the result of over "a year's worth of work", and they describe an ending to him which does not go over well. When the actual conclusion to Epidemic comes, it is both a kind of retort to Claes' response and a natural result which follows the logic established by Lars von Trier of how their creative process can itself be like an infection. Lars von Trier (through "Lars") says of a film that it "ought to be like a pebble in your shoe". Certainly a more perfect statement by a cinematic provocateur could not be said better.
Recommended for: Fans of an experimental and self-aware story of "metafiction", both about the creative process of writing a movie, the emergent plot of said movie, and the surprisingly thin boundary between them. Best suited for filmgoers who enjoy having their expectations twisted around and are on board for a clever subversion of the horror genre.
In the creative duo's story, Dr. Mesmer is the unwitting cipher carrying the strain of the contagion out into the world, not the other way around, subverting his purpose and mission as a doctor intending to save people. Similarly, as Lars and Niels travel on their own quest of discovery, their efforts to produce something beneficial (or at least entertaining), seems to appear as whimsical and almost too casual of an effort, since when they are not researching, they are spending their time socially, discussing unrelated topics or only addressing their prime concern in an ancillary way. There are many smaller moments--like the kind which Claes claims are popular in Danish cinema--which include the two men connecting with other people. For example, they meet with Udo Kier, who tells them a tragic story about his birth during a fire bombing in World War II, and the ghastly story his mother confessed to him before her recent passing. One scene has them discussing various kinds of wine in preparation for their important dinner party with Claes, and a good deal of conversation is given to pairings and varietals--they also talk of how a plague which infected the grapes centuries past has left its mark. One of the more fascinating moments is when Niels talks of how he became involved in a large-scale exchanging of letters with teenage girls in Atlantic City, forcing awkward meetings like one he has in a hotel lobby with a girl and her aunt, as well as a kindly cassette tape one teenager sent him in lieu of a letter. What is interesting about all of these moments are that they are like small "infections" of humanity, and they illuminate the network that exists in society which both connects us all and are also avenues which allow disease and contagion to spread and intermingle. An earlier conversation includes talk of how during the Black Death, Milan isolated itself almost entirely, and quarantined its infected few. It is said that they escaped the brunt of the plague, but upon a further outbreak, they suffered worse as a result. The suggestion here is that even combating the incursion of undesirable elements by a paranoid kind of isolation may be a short-term solution, but cannot be sustained, and makes you vulnerable to other threats. That said, it's still arguably better than dying to a plague sooner, so in typical Lars von Trier cynicism, there is no real "winning".
Lars von Trier is sometimes regarded as an "enfant terrible" of independent cinema, who apparently delights in prodding his audience with experimental, avant-garde works that thrill those who find his work palatable and exciting, and infuriate those who do not or lack that kind of sense of adventure. Known for his involvement in the so-called "Dogme 95" film movement--one which, in short, suggests a reduction in unnatural elements that otherwise detract from a kind of "purity" in cinema--Epidemic is ironically one of the more experimental films of Lars von Trier. Filmed in black and white, and given to a grainy, oversaturated look, Epidemic feels very raw and unfiltered, even reminiscent of David Lynch's Eraserhead in a way. The film is highly self-aware from the start--even the original screenplay which is deleted is titled "The Cop and the Whore", likely a nod to the plot of von Trier's prior film, The Element of Crime. From the time that Lars and Niels decide to write about an epidemic and type the title on their screenplay, the logo is emblazoned in bright red letters in the upper left of the film for the rest of it, complete with a "trademark", in Courier typeface. The effect is more than a mere framing device; it is a false border to separate the film from the "film"--that is to say the story of the writers versus the story of Dr. Mesmer. Lars and Niels story is spoken in their native Danish; however, "Epidemic" is performed in English--Lars von Trier has often said that he prefers his films to be in English so as to not be compartmentalized as "foreign films". This differentiation helps to distinguish when moments are about the process versus the plot of the film in progress; this is also useful because Lars von Trier plays two different characters. But even these conventions are like a houses of cards which Lars von Trier delightfully topples, gleefully toying with our expectations. Lars and Niels' presentation to Claes is a laughably paltry twelve to fifteen pages, the result of over "a year's worth of work", and they describe an ending to him which does not go over well. When the actual conclusion to Epidemic comes, it is both a kind of retort to Claes' response and a natural result which follows the logic established by Lars von Trier of how their creative process can itself be like an infection. Lars von Trier (through "Lars") says of a film that it "ought to be like a pebble in your shoe". Certainly a more perfect statement by a cinematic provocateur could not be said better.
Recommended for: Fans of an experimental and self-aware story of "metafiction", both about the creative process of writing a movie, the emergent plot of said movie, and the surprisingly thin boundary between them. Best suited for filmgoers who enjoy having their expectations twisted around and are on board for a clever subversion of the horror genre.