Kristin is the daughter of a prominent landowner in medieval Norway. She grows up in total harmony with the ideals of the time: strong family ties, social pride and devout Christianity. She accepts the fact that her father has arranged for her to marry the son of another landowner. Kristin's beauty and purity create violent emotions around her. There are envy and attempted rape, murder and revenge. She seeks refuge from the world in a convent, awaiting the time for her marriage. Here the passion of her life strikes, the knight Erlend Nikulaussonn. He, an accomplished seducer, also falls hopelessly in love. They have to cross not only convent walls to meet, but social boundaries as well. Their love cannot be kept secret, and suddenly the innocent Kristin is the centre of a scandal. Her fiance withdraws from their engagement, her father rages, and Erlend's former mistress tries to poison her. The affair grows into a political issue, and finally some of the country's most dignified leaders persuade Lavrans to give in. The lovers win each other, but it is in front of a charred altar in a burnt down church, and their happiness has a double edge. Written by The Norwegian Film Institute
刚刚遭受丧子之痛的家庭主妇凯伦(波迪尔·约根森 Bodil Jørgensen饰),敏感脆弱。她失魂落魄的游荡在哥本哈根的街头,在餐厅进餐时偶遇一位紧握她手不放的白痴。出于同情心,凯伦一路跟随他,目睹了一群终日装疯卖傻的“白痴们”。其实这群年轻男女并非是真正的弱智者,他们是以史托佛(杨斯·艾宾纳斯 Jens Albinus饰)为首佯装白痴的正常人。为了向中产阶级体制挑战,他们不顾舆论压力,以欺骗他人、玩弄他人为乐。凯伦一方面无法彻底成为“白痴”,一方面又对他们的行径梦寐以求。渐渐地,凯伦开始在她的家人面前扮演起了白痴,深陷其中不能自拔。本片入围1998年第51届戛纳电影节主竞赛单元-金棕榈奖。这部以“道格玛95”为电影拍摄准则的影片,不仅在拍摄手法上完全不顾画面的美感,更是继《感官世界》后又一部大量暴露性器官镜头的影片,极度挑战着电检制度和观众的道德尺度。《白痴》与《破浪而出》、《黑暗中的舞者》合称“良心三部曲”。
The movie is generally lacking in character development. The film at one point follows the creepiest-looking gangster (Flavio Bucci from the "The Night Train Murders") to his home where he is shacking up with another gangster's wife and her kid, but more than character development this seems to be more an excuse for another sex scene. The Placido character has an interesting flashback of him working on a filthy fishing barge, which is contrasted with a fantasy where he is piloting a yacht. This movie is very class-conscious in the way it has this poor Sicilian boy falling for a rich, northern girl (the Italian title "La Orca" comes from the designer outfit she's wearing). Placido is pretty good here, but this handsome, light-complexioned hunk is not too convincing as a lower-class Sicilian ruffian. As for Neihaus, I can't decide if she is a bad actress, or is just playing a really obnoxious character (she's more Paris Hilton than Patty Hearst). She does get naked several times which, judging from the English, title was the primary consideration.