Epidemic - Lars Von Trier

Out of all of the Trier films I have seen, this one has to be the least approachable, yet that is not necessarily a bad thing. I had to change my way of thinking while I watch a movie and alter the assumptions I make about what is to come in the next real. The use of Black and White (remember my bias from previous reviews) is very effective and what is most interesting is that the two languages in the movie, Danish and English, become the contrast between the writing of the film and the film itself. The consistent title sequence in the far left corner was not as distracting as I had envisioned it to be, instead it tends to lose itself within the organic shades of black and white that take control of the screen. Von Trier and his writing partner, Niels Vorsel, are pretty good actors and I must say that I really hard to work at deciphering the purpose of yet another film about a plague, yet this one is different. The concept evolves alongside the action in 'real' time (it sounds silly, I know!) and the writing of the film and its making are consistently paralleled as developing together, probably violating every law of Physics out there. All in all, I am a sucker for literature and history and the references to the various plagues in Europe's history that are mentioned in the film are strong reference points if one is lost with what Von Trier and Vorsel are trying to do; this film is very subtle, and blunt at times, and I believe that is the point.