In The Element of Crime, Lars Von Trier portrays a dilapidated city through overly saturated, monochromatic colors cast amidst pitch-black shadows. A particularly striking use of this technique appears early in the film. Fisher, in his experiments with Osmond’s controversial tracking method, follows the path of his target into the sewer system with Kim, Grey’s former mistress, who pleasures Fisher orally as he screams from a pill-induced torture. Von Trier characterizes this nightmarish scene with a dark, reddish-orange hue. Although orange dominates the film’s color scheme, this deeper shade strongly evokes a sense of inferno and damnation, especially in relation to the character’s subterranean position. Thus Fisher’s literal descent into the city’s underground becomes a foreboding metaphor for his ultimate psychological and spiritual devolution into Grey’s criminal psyche.

The “color-chiaroscuro” style permeating this scene (and the film overall) demonstrates an affinity with noir’s black-and-white sensibilities. Von Trier combines the typical dichotomy of light and shadow with a representative use of color, resulting in an amalgamation of noir and Expressionism, or rather an accentuation of noir’s expressionistic influences. In the sewer scene, the scorching orange tint externalizes Fisher’s agonizing pain, while the overbearing blackness represents his journey into the murky waters of Grey’s mind. In this regard, the scene itself becomes an explicit staging for the hard-boiled private eye’s inevitable immersion into the criminal underworld, making the film not only revisionist noir, but also a tribute to noir.

In addition, The Element of Crime borrows certain narrative and stylistic elements from science fiction, particularly the futuristic neo-noir Blade Runner. But Von Trier’s film shares even closer bonds with Andrei Tarkovsky’s Stalker, a film utilizing similar dust-yellow photography to portray a meltdown-stricken, post-apocalyptic universe. Von Trier clearly borrows this film’s bleak atmosphere, but, like his revision of noir, greatly expands upon it. As in Stalker, the use of a single, governing hue enhances the environment’s overall destitution through its sheer absence of color variety and depth. But while Tarkovsky presents a city edging towards collapse, Von Trier suggests, with the conflagrated sewer scene and elsewhere, that at any moment Fisher’s world could explode into flesh-disintegrating flames.

In Lars von Trier’s first feature film The Element of Crime, he removes the visual structure of the film far from the ordinary and into a world of vivid monochromatic colors and obscure urban decay. This extremely stylistic and rather expressionistic use of color seems to hold the film together through such a disjointed narrative. While working with cinematographer Tom Elling, the two collaborate to create a truly unique style through this striking use of the color spectrum.

In one particular scene, the visual style provokes a few theories as to why Trier may have chosen such warm colors. In the first half of The Element of Crime, there is a single underwater shot of a donkey that has drowned in some body of water. The head of the donkey is angled in the frame and appears to be lifeless as small fish swim through the murky water. The image appears to be tinted a yellow-orange as this theme continues throughout the entire film. It may be that this distorted view of reality is because the story is seen through the perspective of the dead--perhaps the deceased young girls or even the donkey. The girls were mutilated similarly to how the films visual form has been mutilated to evoke a certain response.

Also in this watery scene of debris and a dead donkey are other possibilities. Perhaps the film is tinted in such a way because the story is after all being recalled through detective Fisher’s hypnotic experience. The way the donkey floats lifeless in harmony with the other aquatic life gives off a dreamlike impression. Recalling memories through hypnosis is somewhat like dreaming previous experiences and can be somewhat altered from what actually occurred.

Finally, could Lars von Trier have used these warm tones of yellow, orange, and red to give the film a hellish appearance? As Fisher decides he must try to think like the killer in order to find the killer, gradually the line between the two become rather unclear. Fisher appears to be taunted by the fact that he must think evil to find him. Only an occasional neon blue light, or television screen juxtaposes the fiery demeanor of the film.

There is no apparent reason displayed in the film as to why such a jarring choice of color was used throughout. As viewers we are left to only speculate the endless possibilities. However, one thing remains clear, this crime thriller and unique version of a film noir displays a visual style that is not easily forgotten.




forbrydelsens element a.k.a. the element of crime a.k.a. the rime of a lustful p.i. a.k.a. blah da blahdi blah…
response by THE IMPUGNABLE FRASER ‘FUZZY’ McGUFFIN

An underwater shot, seemingly infused with red and with solar-bright lights hovering to the rear of the image, slowly travels downward, or at least that is the impression we are given. At first, I had no idea what this was, but then it gradually resolved itself into what it is, what with the floating bits of underwater debris we have become accustomed to seeing, thanks to the Discovery channel and PBS. The fish especially helped, and even they looked a bit ragged, as if von Trier had coaxed the fish into a little sacrifice for the role, or just decided to trim their edges a bit, the sick. . . but I digress. Before it became clear (heh.) that this was an underwater image, it occurred to me that this was perhaps a camera capable of picking up thermal images; the lights in the background seemed molten in their intensity. This led me to the thought, especially with the camera’s downward movement, of a direct descent into hell, and we’re already halfway there.

Fisher’s voice intones over the image, “Water, water, everywhere, and not a drop to drink.” Of course this is a direct reference to the Coleridge work “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”--its themes of the compulsion to tell a story, the nature of coercion and guilt, the obsession with and entrapment by water, and even the slow pacing mesh almost perfectly with von Trier’s film. Perhaps a second viewing might fully clarify the oblique Christian symbolism that is fairly blatant in the poem.

Blood is definitely a strong suggestion as to the interpretation of the entire film, but these shots in particular. Fisher cannot drink the water because it is, instead, blood. The desire to drink it is there, in a cannibalistic/or Christian sense and with many of the corollaries of each (purgation of sin, infusion of new ideas, etc.) He is also bathed in blood at certain points, in more than one figurative sense.

The saturation of red is nearly the antithesis of the sopping nature of water; red suggests dryness, fire, deserts, de(con)struction, Mars, anger, bluntness, lust, emotions, and so on; whereas water often represents, guess what, wetness, oceans, growth, Neptune, peace, mystery, the intellect. This film is rather expressionistic in presenting the inner and outer conflicts, and simply mind-boggling in its depth and inflammatory nature

mint creme of eel
response by THE RIPPER OF TEMPLE TECH

In The Element of Crime, a hellish, futuristic world is portrayed. Lars von Trier unapologetically uses color filters to give his film an intense look and to code the images he uses in specific ways. These colors are designed to send the viewer head first into this dark, post-apocalyptic world. In one scene, there is what seems to be an industrial park. It is painted in a harsh orange over the general rubbish filled landscape. There are dead horses and pigs scattered about the grounds with people occupying the area. Some of them have huge bon fires which burn a brilliant lime green. There are several possible explanations for this spectacular use of color.

This film indeed shows a desolate world. One explanation for the orange and lime green in this particular scene could be explained as a signifier for a post-nuclear-war Europe. The images in the film make it clear that something happened, and a nuclear war is a likely explanation. This is backed up in this scene by the lime green fire. It is possible for fire to burn that green color in the real world; it would just have to be some sort of chemical fire. Technically speaking at the time this film was made the Cold War was still happening. The real possibility of nuclear war was on the minds of Europeans at this time. There are signifiers in the film also to suggest that the “Europe” in this film is actually Germany. At this point in history the Berlin wall still existed.

Another possibility is that this is a subversive anti-pollution film. The orange coloration of this scene could be used to represent smog or other air pollutants. The fact that this scene has dead animals scattered all over the place supports this idea too. Dead animals? What could have killed them? Pollution of course. The health of animals is often associated with pollution movements. The lime green fire, again, a chemical fire. What better than a green chemical fire to signify pollution?

Another theory to explain this bizarre use of color could simply be the bizarre man who implemented them. Lars von Trier could be simply trying to convey the idea of a horrible nightmare. This may not be any possible reality in his mind, but maybe just a vision of terror he had. The dead horse and pigs, the lime green fire, the orange landscape--these could all elements of a bizarre bad dream. It is likely that when there is a director with a mind like his, an insane fantasy is not to far away.




orange you glad i didn't say banana?
response by WHO KILLED OWEN

In Lars Von Trier’s 1984 film The Element Of Crime, the color orange overrides everything except the television screen. In one scene of the film, the protagonist Fisher sits in his orange-saturated room going over the clues of the film in the background. In the foreground, we see his mentor Professor Osborne explaining “the element of crime.”

There are several possibilities as to why Von Trier covers what is basically a black and white film in orange. One possibility is that he is trying to give the film a dreamlike look to go along with the dreamlike way that the story is being told. In a film about a PI on the case, the PI is put in the background of the shot. He is out of focus and mumbling to himself about the case. The scene is more about his confusion than about is attempt to solve the puzzle. This is just like in a dream where everything is fuzzy and doesn’t quite seem to make sense.

Another possibility is that this scene and the movie, as a whole, symbolizes the way Von Trier sees the world. The orange could represent his frustration with the world around him. The blue screen up front could be the comfort and understanding he finds in another, bigger screen: the screen of the cinema.

Still another possibility is that Von Trier is just another pretentious filmmaker trying to show off how artistic he is. Nothing new for a filmmaker, and the Dogme95 movement with its “vow of chastity” supports the idea that Von Trier may take himself too seriously. Von Trier is such an eccentric individual, that it is impossible to truly decipher his motives in making an orange film. Just keep him away from sharp instruments. He may try to cut off an ear.

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