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Dogma 95, the avant-garde filmmaking movement founded by the Danish director Lars von Trier and three of his fellow directors, was launched in 1995 at an elite cinema conference in Paris—when von Trier was called upon to speak about the future of film but instead showered the audience with pamphlets announcing the new movement and its manifesto. A refreshingly original critical commentary on the director and his practice, Playing the Waves is a paramount addition to one of new media’s most provocative genres: games and gaming. Playing the Waves cleverly puns on the title of one of von Trier’s most famous features and argues that Dogma 95, like much of the director’s low-budget realist productions, is a game that takes cinema beyond the traditional confines of film aesthetics and dramatic rules. Simons articulates the ways in which von Trier redefines the practice of filmmaking as a rule-bound activity, and stipulates the forms and structures of games von Trier brings to bear on his films, as well as the sobering lessons he draws from economic and evolutionary game theory. Much like the director’s films, this fascinating volume takes the traditional point of view of film theory and film aesthetics to the next level and demonstrates we have much to learn from the perspective of game studies and game theory.
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Playing the Waves Playing the Waves Lars von Trier’s Game Cinema Jan Simons The publication of this book is made possible by a grant from The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). Front cover illustration from: the five obstructions / de fem benspænd, Jørgen Leth, Denmark Photo: Dan Holmberg; courtesy of Zentropa Cover design: Kok Korpershoek, Amsterdam Lay-out: japes, Amsterdam Translation: Ralph de Rijke isbn (paperback) isbn (hardcover) nur © Jan Simons / Amsterdam University Press, All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the written permission of both the copyright owner and the author of the book. Table of contents Introduction 1 Manifesto and Modernism The Manifesto as a postmodern parody The Manifesto taken seriously The Manifesto and modernism From ‘essence’ to game The Manifesto: Reiteration and difference 2 The Name of this Game is Dogma 95 Filmmaking as a game Film and formalism: The parametric film Aesthetics and dramaturgy Filming: story as reconstruction and as representation Enter the matrix: Game, simulation, rules and art Complex art: Psykomobile # : The World Clock ‘There is something digital in the state of Denmark’ 3 Filming the Game The rules of the game The game of filming, and films about games Idioterne ( ) Idioterne ( ) 4 Virtual Explorations: Journeys to the End of the Night Rules and Manifestos Virtual explorations: The Europa trilogy Virtual worlds Virtual film 5 The Leader of the Game Many films, one game The ‘von Trier’ gameworlds Nuances and subtleties 6 Between Cinema and Computer Filming the virtual Spirituality and virtuality 6 Playing the Waves Registrations of simulations Virtuality Virtual realism The viewer as lurker The ‘von Trier system’ revisited 7 Between Hollywood and Copenhagen Dogma, film and gaming Enter the Matrix: Virtual Hollywood The Matrix unloaded: Virtual real