This is what we are watching: “The Biggest Boss” - the only but amazing comedy by Lars von Trier

In the new series Articles every week I talk about which films and TV series amazed me. Today we’ll talk about a “little Danish comedy” from a big Danish director.

Lars von Trier is a man with a very strange sense of humor. His dramas always contain a lot of jokes that go unnoticed due to the seriousness of the subject matter. Suffice it to remember "Nymphomaniac", where stories about sex are constantly interrupted by stories about fishing, or "The House That Jack Built", where the humor is extremely dark, and therefore taken seriously.

After the release of Manderlay, von Trier wrote a manifesto in which he said that he was already old and tired, and therefore from now on he would make small Danish comedies. The promise was enough for one picture - “The Biggest Boss.”

It is based on a simple human desire - to please others. The owner of the company lies to employees that he is a hired worker, a simple boss who can be fired. But this is only necessary in order to remove people from someone else’s face and not quarrel with anyone. Has the award been cancelled? The “big boss” is to blame. Dismissal? Sorry, ordered from above.

«The biggest boss"for me is an exemplary comedy that remains funny until the very end. Starting from the very situation in which the heroes find themselves, when the owner of the company is going to sell it, to individual small jokes, of which there are an insane amount in the film.

In the comedy, von Trier laughs at human shortcomings, but also manages to have compassion for people. Mouse fuss within the same office is also life and also a field for drama. In this sense, The Biggest Boss is not only a good comedy, but also the key to understanding von Trier: he equally fascinated by the planetary depression shown in “Melancholia” and small problems clerk

A separate reason to watch the film “The Biggest Boss” is the cinematography. Von Trier decided to experiment, so the camera was controlled by a computer. It turned out strange, but fascinating - after all, in 2006, technology was at a different level.

After The Biggest Boss, von Trier struggled with depression, filmed his most unpleasant movies and was almost cancelled. And the little Danish comedy remained the only one in his filmography, which is why its value only grows.