The Element of Crime
| The Element of Crime | |
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theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Lars von Trier |
| Produced by | Per Holst |
| Written by | Lars von Trier Niels Vørsel |
| Starring |
Michael Elphick Esmond Knight Meme Lai Jerold Wells |
| Music by | Bo Holten |
| Cinematography | Tom Elling |
| Edited by | Tómas Gislason |
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Production
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| Distributed by | Kærne Film |
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Release date
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Running time
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103 minutes |
| Country | Denmark |
| Language | English Arabic |
The Element of Crime is a 1984 Danish neo-noir crime art film co-written and directed by Lars von Trier. It is the first feature film directed by Trier and the first installment of the director's Europa trilogy. The other two films in the trilogy are Epidemic (1987) and Europa (1991).
A detective named Fisher, who has become an expatriate living in Cairo, undergoes hypnosis in order to recall his last case. The postwar Germany of his dreamlike recollection is a dystopia, dark and decaying. Fisher remembers pursuing an elusive killer called the "Lotto Murderer", who was strangling and then mutilating young girls who were selling lottery tickets. He attempts to track down the killer using the controversial methods outlined in a book entitled The Element of Crime, written by his disgraced mentor, Osborne. He is joined in his search by a prostitute named Kim, who, it turns out, has had a child by his target. Fisher's search is based on a tailing report written by Osborne when trying to track down a murderer who had been killing in the same way as the "Lotto Murderer", but who, supposedly, has since died in a crash. The Osborne method requires the detective to try to identify with the mind of the killer. This he does, but, in so doing, begins to behave more and more like a serial killer himself.
The film employs the film noir conventions of monochrome footage, apparently constant night, and the frequent presence of water, such as rain and rivers. The film is shot almost entirely in sodium light resulting in images reminiscent of sepia tone, though with a more intense yellow. Because sodium lamps produce light in only a few narrow emission peaks, rather than over a wide spectrum, the film has an almost monochrome appearance. The sepia is occasionally contrasted with piercing blues or reds.
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Wikipedia