The Idiots

R

Released May 30, 1998

1h 55m

Comedy

Drama

List

72%

Tomatometer

32 Reviews

78%

Audience Score

10,000+ Ratings

Karen (Bodil Jørgensen) is dining alone at a crowded restaurant when a group of people who seem to be mentally disabled enter and disrupt everyone's meal. Discerning that they are not what they seem, Karen returns with the group to the large communal house they inhabit with charismatic Stoffer (Jens Albinus). This group of intellectuals is attempting to challenge bourgeois ideology by behaving like "idiots" in public. Karen, however, may take the act further than any of them had planned.

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Critics Consensus

The Idiots feels more like an experiment than a coherent narrative, but director Lars von Trier's provocative style and rumination on civilization will leave most audience members feeling like satisfied test subjects.

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Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

The Idiots works as a situationist provocation about a situationist provocation, though claiming the sentimental high ground at the end.

Rated: 3/5

Aug 16, 2023

Full Review

Globe and Mail

Rated: 3/4

Mar 19, 2002

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Kevin Thomas

Los Angeles Times

The Idiots suggests that if Danish iconoclast Lars von Trier's filmsare getting tougher, they're also continuing to reward the patient.

Rated: 3.5/5

Feb 14, 2001

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Gilbert Adair

Independent on Sunday

Not everyone's cup of tea and, indeed, not a cup of tea at all, but one of those extremely rare films that aren't content to leave the cinema as they found it.

Nov 27, 2017

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

The first Dogme film of enfant terrible Lars von Trier challenges viewers to reexamine their social mores and cinema habits of voyeurism and pleasure.

Rated: B

Jul 16, 2009

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Film Threat

Rated: 5/5

Dec 6, 2005

Full Review

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Leaburn O

A good ending and some very good scenes but it just makes no actual sense except the one character. So…nah not for me. Watched on DVD.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

07/02/24

Full Review

Dani G

Is this a mock from Lars Von Trier? We know you're a transgressor and provocateur, but c'mon! Do something good at least

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

09/16/23

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David H

"The Idiots" sounds like a film about movie critics!

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

07/22/23

Full Review

Jens B

Es kostet schon etwas Überwindung, sich zwei Stunden lang dieser Dogma 95-Kacke (sorry, not sorry) auszuliefern. Doch so froh ich über von Triers Abkehr von seinem eigenen Manifest in den letzten Jahren bin, so wundervoll ist doch "Idioten". Die Geschichte ist simpel: Eine Gruppe junger Menschen tut so als wäre sie geistig eingeschränkt. Fertig. Die Zwischen- und Untertöne, die sich aus diesem Setup ergeben sind allerdings erstaunlich feinsinnig (beste Szene: die potenzielle Käuferin des Hauses). Mehrfach hält der Film dem Publikum den Spiegel vor und viele Dinge, die in diesem Film gesagt werden, habe ich genauso während meiner Zeit bei der Lebenshilfe erlebt. Der Film funktioniert also auf mehreren Ebenen, ist erstaunlich lustig und einfühlsam, provoziert genau im richtigen Maß und spricht sehr verschiedene Wahrheiten für unterschiedliche Teile des Publikums aus. Ein bisschen zu lang ist er trotzdem.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

11/09/22

Full Review

Arthur L

Through the first watch the beginning part of the film can be quite annoying though the further you get the greater it gets and the finale - touching and emotional.Von Trier is a master.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/27/22

Full Review

william d

There was a nice little twist at the end that almost justifies the previous 100 minutes. Almost, but not quite.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Lars von Trier

Director

Jens Albinus

Stoffer

Anne Louise Hassing

Susanne

Bodil Jørgensen

Karen

Nikolaj Lie Kaas

Jeppe

Troels Lyby

Henrik

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Together

90%

89%

Together

Chicago Cab

56%

66%

Chicago Cab

Elling

85%

91%

Elling

Bad Manners

85%

43%

Bad Manners

Free Money

29%

25%

Free Money

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Synopsis

Karen (Bodil Jørgensen) is dining alone at a crowded restaurant when a group of people who seem to be mentally disabled enter and disrupt everyone's meal. Discerning that they are not what they seem, Karen returns with the group to the large communal house they inhabit with charismatic Stoffer (Jens Albinus). This group of intellectuals is attempting to challenge bourgeois ideology by behaving like "idiots" in public. Karen, however, may take the act further than any of them had planned.

Director: Lars von Trier
Producer: Vibeke Windeløv
Screenwriter: Lars von Trier
Distributor: USA Films, Buena Vista Pictures
Production Co: Zentropa Entertainment
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: Danish
Release Date (Theaters): May 30, 1998, Original
Release Date (DVD): Jul 27, 2004
Box Office (Gross USA): $7.2K
Runtime: 1h 55m
Sound Mix: Dolby SR, Surround