lars von trier's directorial debut tells the story of a detective provoked to return to his old beat in order to solve an old case. the film has a very unique look about it, in that it is largely filtered with a sepia tone, albeit with vivid occasional splashes of blue. british actor michael elphick leads the cast as the aforementioned detective, following the trail of a serial killer using a technique outlined in a book, the element of crime of the title.
following 'europa' i was very much looking forward to checking out some similiar period von trier, and 'the element of crime' didnt disappoint, in fact i found it to be much better than 'europa'. the concept and the style worked perfectly together, both really complimenting each other, making a film that is not just style over substance, but incredibly powerful at the same time. the world of the film reminded of the work of gilliam and early jeunet, creating, similiarly to 'europa' a very old fashioned future, except that the world of 'europa' was a very futuristic past.
as to whether the film will hold up to repeated viewings im not sure, but the initial experience alone was incredibly inspiring, leading to what i would consider one of the best screenings i have seen in a long time.
