The Element of Crime

For the German rock band, see Element of Crime.

The Element of Crime
theatrical release poster
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
Production company	Det Danske Filminstitut
Distributed by	Kærne Film
Release dates	14 May 1984 (1984-05-14)
Running time	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).

Plot

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.

Cast

• Michael Elphick as Fisher
• Esmond Knight as Osborne
• Meme Lai as Kim
• Jerold Wells as Kramer
• Ahmed El Shenawi as Therapist
• Astrid Henning-Jensen as Housekeeper
• János Herskó as Coroner
• Stig Larsson as Coroner's assistant
• Harry Harper and Roman Moszkowicz as Portiers

• Lars Von Trier as Schmuck of Ages
• Frederik Casby as White policeman
• Duke Addabayo as Black policeman
• Jon Bang Carlsen as Angry policeman
• Leif Magnusson as Hotel guest
• Preben Lerdorff Rye as Grandfather
• Camilla Overbye Roos and Maria Behrendt as Lotto girls
• Mogens Rukov as Librarian
• Gotha Andersen as Judge

Style

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.

The world depicted in the film is semi-derelict. Disordered collections of similar or identical objects are found in many of the scenes, reinforcing the sense of a crumbling society. Examples include white paper, light bulbs, heaps of keys, surgical scissors, glass bottles, rubber stamps and Coca-Cola cans.

The film's slow pace, dark visuals and occasional surreal imagery give it a dreamlike quality. In addition, much of the dialogue is contradictory. An example is one conversation between Fisher and his mentor's housekeeper:

Fisher: Is it always as dark as this at this time of year?

Housekeeper: There are no seasons any more. The last three summers haven't been summers. The weather changes all the time. It never alters.

In the opening of the film, a shot of a donkey lying on its back and then slowly struggling to stand may be a homage to a similar shot in Andrei Tarkovsky's Andrei Rublev (1966). Trier has stated that he is an admirer of Tarkovsky's work.

I was very inspired by Tarkovsky. I won't make any bones about that. I saw an excerpt from The Mirror (Zerkalo) on Swedish television once, just a travelling shot around that house, and that was one of those 'I'll be damned' experiences.

Reception

The Element of Crime received positive reviews, currently holding a 77% rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes.

Accolades

The film received several awards including the Danish Bodil and Robert awards in 1985 for the best film, and was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival.

Organization	Category	Recipients and nominees	Result
Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival	Grand Prix	Lars von Trier	Nominated
Cannes Film Festival	Technical Grand Prize	Lars von Trier	Won
	Palme d'Or	Lars von Trier	Nominated
Bodil Awards	Best Film	Lars von Trier	Won
Fantasporto	International Fantasy Film Award for Best Director	Lars von Trier	Won
	International Fantasy Film Award for Best Film	Lars von Trier	Nominated
Mannheim-Heidelberg International Filmfestival	Josef von Sternberg Award	Lars von Trier	Won
Robert Award	Best Cinematography	Tom Elling	Won
	Best Costume Design	Manon Rasmussen	Won
	Best Editor	Tómas Gislason	Won
	Best Film	Lars von Trier	Won
	Best Production Design	Peter Høimark	Won
	Best Sound	Morten Degnbol	Won
	Best Special Effects	Peter Høimark	Won
Vulcain Prize	Technical Grand Prize	Lars von Trier	Won

Home media

The Element of Crime has been released on DVD in North America by the Criterion Collection. In Europe, a digitally remastered DVD is available as part of the box set Lars von Trier's Europe Trilogy – Hypnotic Edition.

External links

• The Element of Crime at IMDb
• The Element of Crime at the TCM Movie Database
• The Element of Crime at Rotten Tomatoes
• Criterion Collection Essay by Peter Cowie