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The Element of Crime

1984 · 104 min

A hypnotic, rain-soaked descent into a decaying dreamscape, demanding patience as it blurs the line between detective and killer.

Directed by
Lars von Trier
Genres
Crime, Drama, Science fiction
Overview
Fisher, an ex-detective, decides to take one final case when a mysterious serial killer claims the lives of several young girls. Fisher, unable to find the culprit, turns to Osbourne, a writer who was once respected for his contributions to the field of criminology. Fisher begins to use Osbourne's technique, which involves empathizing with serial killers; however, as the detective becomes increasingly engrossed in this method, things take a disturbing turn.

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Directed by
Lars von Trier
Genres
Crime, Drama, Science fiction
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • darkstrength 3 of 3
  • bleakstrength 3 of 3
  • eeriestrength 3 of 3
  • melancholicstrength 2 of 3
Pacing
slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
demanding, 4 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • obsession
  • identity
  • madness
  • crime
  • guilt
Places
  • big city
  • road trip
Era
timeless
Audience
adult
Form
  • nonlinear
  • unreliable narrator
Content intensity
  • Gore mild
  • Language mild
  • Violence strong
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action2
Horror6
Humour1
Realism3
Romance2
Tension7
Darkness9
Complexity9
Emotional weight8

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Europa trilogy

  1. The Element of CrimeMovie · 1984 This title
  2. EuropaMovie · 1991

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Cast

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Details

Genres
crime, drama, science fiction
Directed by
Lars von Trier
Written by
Lars von Trier, Niels Vørsel
Starring
Michael Elphick, Esmond Knight, Me Me Lai, Jerold Wells, Ahmed El Shenawi, Astrid Henning-Jensen, Janos Hersko, Stig Larsson
Cinematography
Tom Elling
Runtime
104 min
Country
Denmark
Languages
Arabic, English, German

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