Epidemic

Taking a bet to make a film with one million Danish kroner, von Trier channels his thematic obsessions into a subversive meta-filmmaking experiment mixing grainy 16mm and 35mm. A twisted reflection on Europe’s haunted past, it’s also the story of the writing of the film itself – how two guys named Lars and Niels hammer out a script about a young doctor who attempts in vain to stop the spread of a deadly plague. From the apparently disconnected flow of scenes to the mix of gritty realism with allegory, the director imprints his very personal mark in this playful work – at once a dark comedy, a parody on horror and a self-mocking prank.