Oxford's oldest student newspaper

Independent since 1920

The Boss Of It All

3/5 ‘Here comes a film, and if it already looks a bit weird, hang in there, because anyone can see it… It’s a comedy, and harmless as such… Just a cosy time. So why not poke fun at artsy-fartsy culture?’ From the opening voiceover of The Boss of It All (Direktøren for Det Hele) it is clear that this is no normal office comedy. This Danish art film by Lars von Trier features Kristoffer, a pretentious out-of-work actor who lands a job playing the fictitious head of an IT firm. The real owner, Ravn, has for years deferred all tricky decisions to ‘the boss of it all,’ but when he tries to sell the firm on to some suspicious Icelanders they will only deal with the real thing. So Kristoffer, equipped with nothing but his limitless ability to overact, must satisfy both the Icelanders and his eccentric ‘employees’ that he really is the boss of it all, and cope with the perpetually irritating Ravn.The film is shot entirely using the automavision process, in which the camera is placed in the best fixed position and the filming controlled by computer. The effect is of uneven, disconnected shots, often pointing in slightly the wrong place and cutting out half a head, for example, or leaving a face obscured. The shots are too short for the audience to get comfortable, and give the impression of CCTV footage. Yet despite the distancing effect (also caused by weird voiceovers), one ends up rooting for Kristoffer, as he evolves from an unbearable and absurd thesp to something resembling human. In drawing attention to the actor, and the process of keeping a role alive, the film may well be making a point about cinema in general, though what this is exactly is hard to tell. More engaging is the gently surreal drama that springs up between the characters. The Boss of It All even manages to be funny some of the time, though its unusual brand of Danish humour will not appeal to everyone.By Elizabeth Bennet

Check out our other content

Most Popular Articles