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258:). They begin to write a new script about an epidemic: the outbreak of a plague-like disease. Another protagonist is a doctor, Mesmer, who, against the will of the Faculty of Medicine of an unknown city, goes to the countryside to help people. During the next days, the facts of the script join the real-life events in which a similar disease starts to spread. Lars and Niels go to Germany, where they meet a man who describes the Allied bombing of
278:). After that a hypnotist and a woman arrive in the house, to "help" writing the script, but the woman is overpowered by the visions of the script which are becoming real. She commits suicide with a fork, then another woman who shares the house with Lars and Niels dies too, and Niels begins showing the signs of the disease.
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Co-written by Trier and Niels Vørsel, the film focuses on the screenwriting process. Vørsel and Trier play themselves, coming up with a last-minute script for a producer. The story is inter-cut with scenes from the film they write, in which Trier plays a renegade doctor trying to cure a modern-day
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After the trip, Niels goes to a hospital where he undergoes a minor surgical procedure and while there tells Lars to go to see Palle, a pathologist who is performing an autopsy on a man who has recently died of an unknown disease. The last day, Lars and Niels have a dinner with their producer, to
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In a metafiction version of the film, divided into five days. On the first day of the protagonists, screenwriters Lars and Niels lose the only copy of a film script (Kommisæren Og
Luderen, "The Policeman and the Whore", a reference to
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gave the film 3 out of 5, and wrote: "Aside from the
Pirandellian games and some interplay of different film stocks there isn't much going on here, though von Trier rewards the patient with a strange and horrifying climax".
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whom they reveal the end of the film, that Mesmer and his medical kit have spread the disease. The producer does not like the short twelve-page script, which has no violence, few deaths, and no
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gave the film 3 out of 4, and wrote: "Will never be confused with von Trier's great films. But it is an intriguing introduction to his later cinematic obsessions".
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Excluding his portrayal of von Trier as Dr. Mesmer, most of the film's cast portray fictionalized versions of themselves:
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called the film "among better and most revealing movies".
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215:film co-written and directed by
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229:(1984) and succeeded by
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1139:1987 black comedy films
386:Robert K. Elder of the
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112:Det Danske Filminstitut
1169:Films about filmmaking
1030:To Each His Own Cinema
846:Awards and nominations
341:Jørgen Christian Krüff
1184:Films shot in Denmark
919:The Five Obstructions
316:Claes Kastholm Hansen
274:(which are common in
1179:Films set in Denmark
1074:Golden Heart trilogy
1021:Images of Liberation
863:The Element of Crime
255:The Element of Crime
226:The Element of Crime
1013:The Orchid Gardener
710:. 13 February 2004.
527:festival-cannes.com
439:Rat king (folklore)
1060:(2005, screenplay)
935:The Boss of It All
903:Dancer in the Dark
887:Breaking the Waves
767:TCM Movie Database
533:on 23 January 2013
327:Kirsten Hemmingsen
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203:experimental
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168:Running time
90:Thomas Kragh
74:Niels Vørsel
56:Niels Vørsel
15:
1005:Short films
997:(1994–2022)
994:The Kingdom
951:Melancholia
841:Filmography
370:Fantasporto
333:Gert Holbek
262:during the
209:dark comedy
172:106 minutes
124:Angel Films
61:Produced by
41:Directed by
1119:1987 films
1113:Categories
1057:Dear Wendy
978:Television
943:Antichrist
895:The Idiots
789:Metacritic
722:"Epidemic"
708:"Epidemic"
650:29 January
624:10 October
614:Metacritic
609:"Epidemic"
537:2009-07-21
507:22 October
482:15 October
450:References
409:Home media
381:Metacritic
347:Gitte Lind
156:1987-09-11
104:Production
98:Peter Bach
51:Written by
1038:Dimension
927:Manderlay
731:14 August
593:14 August
425:box set,
413:In 2023,
356:Reception
320:Ib Hansen
303:Ole Ernst
185:Languages
106:companies
87:Edited by
1100:Category
1084:Zentropa
1064:Dogme 95
911:Dogville
871:Epidemic
784:Epidemic
773:Epidemic
762:Epidemic
751:Epidemic
660:cite web
433:See also
419:Epidemic
337:Udo Kier
272:subplots
241:Udo Kier
235:(1991).
198:Epidemic
95:Music by
69:Starring
24:Epidemic
1049:Related
765:at the
423:Blu-ray
260:Cologne
206:medical
190:English
180:Denmark
177:Country
154: (
141:1987-05
139: (
1041:(2010)
1033:(2007)
1024:(1982)
1016:(1977)
989:(1988)
970:(2018)
962:(2013)
954:(2011)
946:(2009)
938:(2006)
930:(2005)
922:(2003)
914:(2003)
906:(2000)
898:(1998)
890:(1996)
882:(1991)
879:Europa
874:(1987)
866:(1984)
692:17 May
681:"Film"
566:22 May
473:
232:Europa
213:horror
188:Danish
147:Cannes
145: (
986:Medea
756:IMDb
733:2023
694:2023
666:link
652:2017
626:2014
595:2012
568:2011
509:2022
484:2010
471:ISBN
282:Cast
247:Plot
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