The Perfect Human (1967)
- Original title
- Det perfekte menneske
- Directed by
- Jørgen Leth
- Genre
- short film, documentary film, experimental film
- Country
- Denmark
- Runtime
- 12 min
- Rating
- 6.6 of 10 from 53 voters
- Elsewhere
- IMDb
The catalogue in 3D
The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.
How it feels
A Danish couple in a blank white room perform everyday actions like eating and kissing. A detached voice-over describes their behavior in a cold scientific tone. This thirteen minute black and white film treats the couple like specimens in a zoo.
detachedclinicalobservationalelegantminimalistsurrealironicatmosphericcool
What happens
The Perfect Human (Danish: Det perfekte menneske) is a cult short film in black and white by Jørgen Leth lasting 13 minutes about a middle class Danish couple performing everyday rituals. The film examines human behavior in a suave, pseudo-scientific way. It depicts well-dressed actors, a man and a woman, both labelled 'the perfect human' in a detached manner, 'functioning' in a blank boundless room, as though they were subjects in a zoo. The tone of world-weary detachment is created through a voice-over providing comments on their mundane actions. The film was later seen in five different versions when Leth was challenged by filmmaker Lars von Trier, which were compiled in The Five Obstructions. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)
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It don't mean a thing (1967)- More like this film, on a shelf you can walk up to.It's the lit case on the top shelf.