THE ELEMENT OF CRIME- (FORBRYDELSE ELEMENT)-1984- This was Lars Von Trier’s first film in English. I’m not much of a fan of his so for me he shouldn’t have bothered.
This pretentious, phony noir thriller features Michael Elphick as Fisher, a washed up police detective returning to Europe after spending 12 years in Cairo. He meets his old mentor (Shakespearean actor Esmond Knight, who died in ’87) author of the book “The Element of Crime”. He asks Fisher to investigate the murders of some lottery-selling children. From a police report Fisher traces the movements of the killer, one Harry Grey. Along the way he meets a prostitute (Me Me Lai from EATEN ALIVE BY CANNIBALS) who may not be all she appears to be (despite a full frontal nude scene….). Fisher actually narrates it all to a psychiatrist while under hypnosis. Dark, talky and self important, all the ingredients to make this a pseudo-arty cult hit!
Mr. Dogma himself (who also co-wrote this) went on to make THE KINGDOM 1 & 2 and the Cannes hit DANCER IN THE DARK (with singer Bjork) and other nonsense. Star Elphick was a popular British TV (“Boon”) and movie star who died in 2002 at age 55.
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