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{{for|the German rock band|Element of Crime}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2014}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = The Element of Crime
| image          = Element of crime poster.jpg
| alt            = 
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Lars von Trier]]
| producer       = Per Holst<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lasagna |first1=Roberto |last2=Lena |first2=Sandra |title=Lars von Trier |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E9FYAibtRr4C&pg=PA122 |access-date=15 October 2010 |date=12 May 2003 |publisher=Gremese Editore |isbn=978-88-7301-543-7 |page=123}}</ref>
| writer         = Lars von Trier<br />Niels Vørsel
| starring       = [[Michael Elphick]]<br />[[Esmond Knight]]<br />[[Me Me Lai|Meme Lai]]<br />[[Jerold Wells]]
| music          = [[Bo Holten]]
| cinematography = Tom Elling
| editing        = Tómas Gislason
| studio         = [[Det Danske Filminstitut]]
| distributor    = Kærne Film
| released       = {{Film date|df=y|1984|05||[[1984 Cannes Film Festival|Cannes]]|1984|05|14}}
| runtime        = 104 minutes<!--Theatrical runtime: 103:34--><ref>{{cite web |url=http://bbfc.co.uk/releases/element-crime-1970 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141015115209/http://bbfc.co.uk/releases/element-crime-1970 |url-status=dead |archive-date=15 October 2014 |title=''THE ELEMENT OF CRIME'' (15) |work=[[British Board of Film Classification]] |date=10 May 1985 |access-date=10 October 2014}}</ref>
| country        = Denmark
| language       = English<br />Arabic
}}
'''''The Element of Crime''''' ({{langx|da|'''Forbrydelsens Element'''}}) is a 1984 Danish [[Experimental film|experimental]] [[neo-noir]] [[crime film]] co-written and directed by [[Lars von Trier]]. It is the first [[feature film]] directed by von Trier and the first installment of the director's [[Europa trilogy]] — succeeded by ''[[Epidemic (film)|Epidemic]]'' (1987) and ''[[Europa (1991 film)|Europa]]'' (1991).

==Plot==
The film opens with Detective Fisher, a European [[expatriate]] in [[Cairo]], undergoing hypnosis to process his most recent case, with the remainder of the film narrated by him in a dreamlike state. Expressionistic and surreal, the Europe of Fisher's hypnotized recollection is a psychosocial dystopia, dark, decaying, desolate, and rain drenched.

Chief Inspector Kramer has asked Fisher to return to Europe to investigate a serial killer who has been strangling and mutilating young girls. Osborne, Fisher's former but now disgraced mentor, had closed the case three years before, after the suspect, Harry Grey, supposedly died in a car crash with Osborne in pursuit. But now, there has been a new murder with the same MO.

Visiting Osborne, Fisher is bothered to learn that Osborne now disowns the set of crime-solving techniques he invented, controversial in the department, but which Fisher considers genius. Fisher intends to vindicate Osborne's techniques by solving the murders.

Osborne's techniques involve simulating the life of the criminal as closely as possible, in order to understand the inner workings of his mind. Retrieving an old tailing report describing Grey's journey between several cities, which Osborne had ordered burned, Fisher sets off to repeat Grey's journey.

In the first city, Fisher meets a prostitute, Kim, who he asks to simulate Grey's fiancé, who accompanied him on the trip according to the tailing report. Throughout the journey, Fisher keeps the same hotel rooms as Grey, wears Grey's clothing, and attempts to simulate his personality. He even has Kim painfully wrap strings around his head, to simulate Grey's frequent [[headaches]].

By thinking like Grey, Fisher is able to discover a new body, and to predict the time and place of the next murder. He also learns that Kim had a child with Grey, who Fisher had seen earlier at Osborne's home.

Fisher's prediction of the time and place of the next murder turns out to be accurate, as a young girl is soon contacted by a man claiming to be Harry Grey. Kramer's police force sets up a [[sting operation]] to capture Grey using the girl as bait. But instead of protecting the girl, Fisher separates her from Kramer, and strangles her himself. The true killer is Osborne: Grey really died in the car chase, but having successfully entered Grey's mind across the course of his own investigation, Osborne also acquired his murderous compulsions, and continued Grey's plans. Having replicated Osborne's techniques, the same thing has happened to Fisher.

Osborne hangs himself after writing a confession claiming responsibility for the murders, including the one committed by Fisher. Over Osborne's body, Kim and Fisher exchange knowing glances.

Fisher tells the hypnotist, "You can wake me up now," but hears no response.

==Cast==
{{cast list|* [[Michael Elphick]] as Fisher
* [[Esmond Knight]] as Osborne
* [[Me Me Lai|Meme Lai]] as Kim
* [[Jerold Wells]] as Kramer
* Ahmed El Shenawi as Therapist
* [[Astrid Henning-Jensen]] as Housekeeper
* [[János Herskó]] as Coroner
* [[Stig Håkan Larsson|Stig Larsson]] as Coroner's assistant
* Harry Harper and Roman Moszkowicz as Portiers
* [[Lars von Trier]] as Schmuck of Ages
* Frederik Casby as White policeman
* Duke Addabayo as Black policeman
* Jon Bang Carlsen as Angry policeman
* Leif Magnusson as Hotel guest
* [[Preben Lerdorff Rye]] as Grandfather
* [[Camilla Overbye Roos]] and Maria Behrendt as Lotto girls
* [[Mogens Rukov]] as Librarian
* Gotha Andersen as Judge
}}

== Crew ==

* Director: [[Lars von Trier]]
* Screenplay: Lars von Trier, Niels Vørsel
* Executive producer: [[Per Holst]]
* Production manager: Per Årman, Sanne Arnt Torp
* Director of photography: Tom Elling
* Shooting script: Lars von Trier, Tom Elling, Tómas Gislason
* Scenario consultant: Mogens Rukov
* Translation: Steven Wakelam, William Quarshie
* Camera operator: Søren Berthelin, Steen Møller Rasmussen
* Assistant director: Åke Sandgren
* Production designer: Peter Høimark
* Special effects: Peter Høimark
* Property master: Tove Robert Rasmussen
* Props: Peter Grant, John Johansen, Lars Nielsen, William Knutter
* Lighting engineer: E.g. Norre
* Gaffer: Jens Gielow, Flemming Bruhn Pedersen, Preben Seltoft, Birger Larsen
* Sound recordist: Henrik Fleischer
* Film and sound editor: Tómas Gislason
* Wardrobe: Manon Rasmussen
* Music composed by: [[Bo Holten]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=von Trier |first=Lars |title=The Element of Crime |url=https://www.criterion.com/films/619-the-element-of-crime |website=The Criterion Collection}}</ref>

==Style==
The film employs the [[film noir]] conventions of monochrome footage, apparently constant night, and the frequent presence of water, such as rain and rivers. The film is shot almost entirely in [[sodium light]], resulting in images reminiscent of [[sepia tone]], though with a more intense yellow.<ref>{{cite book |last=Lumholdt |first=Jan |title=Lars von Trier: interviews |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=voTOt3GaRJAC&pg=PA74 |access-date=14 October 2010 |year=2003 |publisher=Univ. Press of Mississippi |isbn=978-1-57806-532-5 |page=74 |quote=Both The Element of Crime and Images of a Relief are romances in decomposition and set in a landscape saturated in yellow sodium color.}}</ref> Because sodium lamps produce light in only a few narrow [[emission peak]]s, rather than over a wide spectrum, the film has an almost monochrome appearance. The sepia is occasionally contrasted with piercing blues and reds.

The world depicted in the film is semi-derelict. Disordered collections of similar or identical objects are found in many of the scenes, reinforcing the sense of a crumbling society. Examples include white paper, light bulbs, heaps of keys, surgical scissors, glass bottles, rubber stamps, and Coca-Cola cans.

The film's slow pace, dark visuals and occasional [[Surrealism|surreal]] imagery give it a dreamlike quality. In addition, much of the dialogue is contradictory. An example is one conversation between Fisher and his mentor's housekeeper:
:Fisher: Is it always as dark as this at this time of the year?
:Housekeeper: There are no seasons anymore. The last three summers haven't been summers. The weather changes all the time. It never alters.

In the opening of the film, a shot of a donkey lying on its back and then slowly struggling to stand may be a [[Homage (arts)|homage]] to a similar shot in [[Andrei Tarkovsky]]'s ''[[Andrei Rublev (film)|Andrei Rublev]]'' (1966).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.combustiblecelluloid.com/element.shtml |title='The Element of Crime' Review |last=Anderson |first=Jeffrey M. |date= |website=Combustible Celluloid |publisher= |access-date=November 5, 2022 |quote=}}</ref> von Trier has stated that he is an admirer of Tarkovsky's work:

<blockquote>I was very inspired by Tarkovsky. I won't make any bones about that. I saw an excerpt from ''[[The Mirror (1975 film)|The Mirror]]'' (''Zerkalo'') on Swedish television once, just a travelling shot around that house, and that was one of those 'I'll be damned' experiences.<ref name="HjortBondebjerg2003">{{cite book |last1=Hjort |first1=Mette |last2=Bondebjerg |first2=Ib |title=The Danish directors: dialogues on a contemporary national cinema |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KEqSeQvWaHgC&pg=PA215 |access-date=14 October 2010 |date=1 January 2003 |publisher=Intellect Books |isbn=978-1-84150-841-2 |page=215}}</ref></blockquote>

==Reception==
{{expand section|date=July 2015}}

===Critical response===
''The Element of Crime'' polarized critics at Cannes in 1984.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/1650-all-those-things-that-are-to-die-antichrist |title=All Those Things That Are to Die: ''Antichrist'' |last=Christie |first=Ian |publisher=The Criterion Collection |date=November 9, 2010 |access-date=December 29, 2016}}</ref> [[Review aggregator]] [[Rotten Tomatoes]] reports that 83% of critics subsequently gave the film a positive review.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Element of Crime |url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/element_of_crime/ |access-date=30 March 2024 |work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |publisher=[[Flixster]]}}</ref>

[[Peter Cowie]], in 2000, writes that "''The'' ''Element'' ''of'' ''Crime'' heralded a new voice in film.... No film made by Lars von Trier is quite so mesmeric as this debut.... this expressionist ritual could have been made by Murnau, Lang, Pabst or any of the masters of German silent cinema" and concludes "''The'' ''Element'' ''of'' ''Crime'' undoubtedly proclaimed a talent as unusual and compelling as any to emerge from Northern Europe since World War II."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cowie |first=Peter |title=The Element of Crime |url=https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/83-the-element-of-crime |website=Criterion.com}}</ref>

===Accolades===
The film received several awards including the [[Bodil Awards]] and [[Robert Awards]] in 1985 for the Best Film. It received [[Vulcan Award|Technical Grand Prize]] and was nominated for the [[Palme d'Or]] at the [[1984 Cannes Film Festival]].<ref name="festival-cannes.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/1177/year/1984.html |title=Festival de Cannes: The Element of Crime |access-date=2009-06-23 |work=festival-cannes.com}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" width="95%"
! width="20%"|Organization
! width="35%"|Category
! width="35%"|Recipients and nominees
! width="10%"|Result
|-
|[[Avoriaz#Avoriaz Film Festival|Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival]] || Grand Prix||[[Lars von Trier]]|| {{nom}}
|-
|rowspan="2"| [[Cannes Film Festival]] || [[Vulcain Prize#Technical Grand Prize (1951-2000)|Technical Grand Prize]]||Lars von Trier ||{{won}}
|-
|[[Palme d'Or]] ||Lars von Trier|| {{nom}}
|-
|rowspan="1"| [[Bodil Awards]] || [[Bodil Award for Best Danish Film|Best Film]] ||Lars von Trier|| {{won}}
|-
|rowspan="2"| [[Fantasporto]] || International Fantasy Film Award for Best Director||Lars von Trier|| {{won}}
|-
|International Fantasy Film Award for Best Film||Lars von Trier|| {{nom}}
|-
|rowspan="1"| [[International Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg|Mannheim-Heidelberg International Filmfestival]]<ref name="iffmh1984">{{cite web |url=http://www.iffmh.de/en/1984_Awards_And_Juries |title=Awards and Juries 1984 |access-date=2011-05-22 |work=iffmh.de}}</ref> || Josef von Sternberg Award ||Lars von Trier|| {{won}}
|-
|rowspan="7"| [[Robert Awards]] || Best Cinematography || Tom Elling || {{won}}
|-
|Best Costume Design || [[Manon Rasmussen]] || {{won}}
|-
|Best Editor || Tómas Gislason || {{won}}
|-
|Best Film ||Lars von Trier|| {{won}}
|-
|Best Production Design || Peter Høimark || {{won}}
|-
|Best Sound || Morten Degnbol || {{won}}
|-
|Best Special Effects || Peter Høimark || {{won}}
|-
|}

==Home media==
''The Element of Crime'' has been released on [[DVD]] in [[North America]] by the [[Criterion Collection]]. In 2023, Criterion released a 3K restoration of the film as part of the [[Blu-ray]] box set, ''Lars von Trier's Europe Trilogy''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=von Trier |first=Lars |title=Lars von Trier's Europe Trilogy |url=https://www.criterion.com/boxsets/6344-lars-von-trier-s-europe-trilogy |website=The Criterion Collection}}</ref> In Europe, a digitally remastered DVD is available as part of the box set ''Lars von Trier's Europe Trilogy&nbsp;– Hypnotic Edition''.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|0087280}}
* {{TCMDb title|73978}}
* {{rotten-tomatoes|element_of_crime}}
* [http://www.criterion.com/current/posts/83-the-element-of-crime ''The Element of Crime''] an essay by [[Peter Cowie]] at the [[Criterion Collection]]
* {{DFDb title|86}}

{{Lars von Trier}}
{{Bodil Award for Best Danish Film}}
{{Robert Award for Best Danish Film}}
{{Portal bar|Film|Denmark}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Element Of Crime, The}}
[[Category:1980s avant-garde and experimental films]]
[[Category:1980s serial killer films]]
[[Category:1984 drama films]]
[[Category:1984 films]]
[[Category:1980s Arabic-language films]]
[[Category:Best Danish Film Bodil Award winners]]
[[Category:Best Danish Film Robert Award winners]]
[[Category:Danish drama films]]
[[Category:1980s English-language films]]
[[Category:Films about prostitution]]
[[Category:Films directed by Lars von Trier]]
[[Category:Films about hypnosis]]
[[Category:Films set in Egypt]]
[[Category:Films set in Germany]]
[[Category:Films shot in Denmark]]
[[Category:Neo-noir]]
[[Category:Prostitution in Denmark]]
[[Category:1984 multilingual films]]
[[Category:Danish multilingual films]]
[[Category:English-language crime films]]