Abstract

This study is an exploration of several aspects of performance in Lars von Trier's Breaking the Waves and The Idiots , focusing especially on the seemingly oppositional concepts of realism and excess. The emphasis here is on the new form of filmmaking that Lars von Trier, together with Thomas Vinterberg, initiated by writing the Dogma Manifesto as a set of filmmaking "rules" in 1995. A close analysis of Emily Watson and Bodil Jorgensen's performances in these two films illuminates the filmmaker's unique approach to performance and also demonstrates the strong impact this new kind of a cinema had on the actor's craft. Through an investigation of the use of performance, von Trier's filmmaking will be placed within the context of Scandinavian theatrical and filmic traditions. The study examines how von Trier's films show the prominent influence of the late nineteenth century Scandinavian theatrical tradition that is most fully embodied by Ibsen and Strindberg; this obvious influence aligns von Trier with other Scandinavian filmmakers like Dreyer and Bergman, whose work also shows the influence of modernist theatre. Von Trier's films, especially through the use of performance, redefine the traditional Scandinavian approach to cinema. This analysis of performance leads to a consideration of the significance of contextualizing performance culturally, historically and socially.