In one of the first scenes I was already taken with the film. During one conversation there was a shot through the outside window to observe them, there was a shot of one characters feet on a floor where you could see the reflection of another character. In these few minutes there were more shots than you see in some full films. What follows from here is a fascinating puzzle of a film.

Far above the standard European policer.

3 nisan 10, 11:00 atlas sinemasi, cansu ocelle, 29. ist. film fest. & ruya gibi bir atmosfer, kirli bir sari icine bulanmis kirli bir film. bogucu bir avrupa taslamasi. basarili sayilabilecek bir ilk film. yer yer gercekustu ogelerle seyirciyi muallakta birakan bir deneyim..

The Element of Crime contains the finest art direction I've ever seen. Imagine if von Trier had directed Blade Runner. What a amazing film that would have been.

"Dark and moody experience that is basically all art and cinematic virtuosity, but no heart."

Hayir hayir hayir..Kitaplarimi akademi kütüphanesinden cikardiklarinda cok kizmistim ama simdi anliyorum. Benimkiler kurguydu, bilimsel tarafi yoktu. Saf ve kismen tehlikeli seylerdi. Belki de en önemli sey hep gözardi edildi. Biz suc unsurunu hep toplum icinde aradik, insanin kendi dogasina bakmak aklimiza gelmedi. Sucu isleyen insan olduguna göre aranmasi gereken yer insanin kendisidir.(Osborne)

I'm surprised how many people have called this incomprehensible, it seemed pretty straightforward with the exception of the last couple minutes. It is very pretty and fairly interesting, though there are a few defensible (and probably intentional) things that nonetheless irked me (some of the leaps in logic in the plot, or how incredibly deliberate the performances and dialogue are, to the point where I started to find it a bit silly: "I want you to screw God in to me").

Lars Von Trier's first film is shockingly accomplished; a noirish tale filmed in amber tones, with flashes of sickly color. The visual scheme and production design are excellent. The story, while predictable, is well-told. And the acting, particularly Michael Elphick as the troubled Fisher and Esmond Knight as his doddering mentor, is strong. The final scenes are a bit confusing, the ending shot especially, but overall, a strong debut for Von Trier, who cameos as the "schmuck of ages".

It's hard to say what to make of this. Great moods and a multi-layered story combined with some absurd dialogue and offbeat scenes.

one of the most difficult movies i have ever seen, but the imagery is f*cking crazy

Lars von Trier being boring, as usual

Pretty but incomprehensible pre-Dogme Trier film

Best part of Europa trilogy ..

Hits a certain note and keeps repeating it. I can see it getting tiring to some, but not here. Beautiful and consistently dark.

Sepia-toned noir, with great visuals and muddled dialogue/plot.

Obviously very inspired by Tarkovsky this one, but it's impossible to dismiss it on that ground, when the result looks as good as it does. Never mind the almost absent plot, this movie is to be enjoyed for its fascinating imagery.