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Anders Hove, Benedikt Erlingsson, Fridrik Thor Fridriksson, Iben Hjejle, Jens Albinus ...( see more  see more... ) , Mia Lyhne , Peter Gantzler

The owner of an IT firm wants to sell up. The trouble is that when he started his firm he invented a nonexistent company president to hide behind when unpopular steps needed to be taken. When potentia...( read more  read more... )l purchasers insist on negotiating with the "Boss" face to face, the owner has to take on a failed actor to play the part. The actor suddenly discovers he is a pawn in a game that goes on to sorely test his (lack of) moral fiber.

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71% liked it

5,706 ratings

Critics

74% liked it

61 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 39 min.

Directed by: Lars von Trier

Release Date: April 13, 2007

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DVD Release Date: September 18, 2007

Stats: 537 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (537)

  • gor41
    September 14, 2008
    gor41
    Disappointing update to the Dogme school restrictions with an automavision shooting system. Von Trier may have found it an interesting technical exercise but it added nothing to the format for me. The sense of humor is assumably hilarious in Denmark but it didn't tickle me. The p...( read more)lot loses its tenuous grip on reality altogether at the end.
  • EarthlyAlien
    March 14, 2008
    EarthlyAlien
    The words Lars von Trier and comedy don't usually go together. We're talking about a man who recently shocked fans to the bone by considering himself unable to work due to a depression and stating that it was uncertain if he would ever again get behind the camera. So, to fit in t...( read more)he von Trierian universe, The Boss of It All would have to be everything but the typical comedy. And it isn't. AT ALL.

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    However, it was Mr. Bertolt Brecht who said that the concept of 'comedy' is abstract, so... The film starts with an introduction by von Trier himself. We see him next to his camera through a reflection in a window declaring that his new comedy is "harmless" and "not worth a moment's reflection". He narrates the film by voice-over and throughout it makes intermittent and wry comments on the comedy formula.

    Often creating the illusion that we're watching a long, Danish episode of "The Office" - which von Trier claims to have never seen - the film centers on an IT-firm owner, Ravn (Peter Gantzler), who has a pathological, David Brent/Michael Scott-like need to be loved by his employees and who has, for years, pretended to be just another employee and leaving all decisions to an unseen "boss of it all" who supposedly lives in the US and who communicates through e-mail. When an Icelandic firm, owned by the cranky, Danish-hater Finnur (played by that nation's leading filmmaker, Fridrik Thor Fridriksson) attempts to buy the company Ravn hires an out-of-work actor, Kristoffer (Jens Albinus), to help seal the deal by posing as the president.

    What was supposed to be a few hours' work turns into an entire week, and Kristoffer aka Svend E. must improvise. The juice of the film comes from this moment on, where we meet the other employees and witness their interactions with Kristoffer and among themselves. This will lead to such situations as an unaccepted marriage proposal, illicit sex and strange fits of violence, just to name a few. Slightly moral issues also appear to gain relevance, but no... the film never really takes itself seriously and it really isn't worth a moment's reflection. Which, for me, wasn't a bad thing.

    Oddly, von Trier manages to wrap this highly unusual and experimental concept, potentially stupid slapstick idea into a well-balanced and absolutely hilarious package. The negotiation scenes between Albinus and Fridriksson are particularly brilliant. The entire cast, made up of vivid character types, is wonderful, but it's especially good to see the lovely and talented Iben Hjejle (Laura from High Fidelity) on her best again, and in her, and speaking her language.

    It certainly won't please everyone, which is kind of inherent to a von Trier film, but it deserves at least a chance. I just hope this wasn't a cinematic farewell.
  • roblangham
    December 24, 2009
    roblangham
    Von Trier's uncharacteristic attempt at a knockabout comedy died at the box office and so it has been little surprise to see him return to uncompromising themes with the recent Antichrist. The Boss of it All involves a clever premise but the film's half hearted playfulness irrita...( read more)tes at times and one is never in any way convinced that the central character is the company overlord he is pretending to be. The usual virtuosity of Dogme circles is also largely absent and only the fleeting wry narration saves this from being a completely wasted opportunity.
  • jschartrand
    August 7, 2009
    jschartrand
    Von Trier signe ici une comédie avec une des histoires les plus inédites qu'il m'aie été de voir. Sans jamais se défaire de son style toujours propre au Dogme, il laisse de côté les réflexions sociales, les causes humaines et tout cela en traitant avec humour et absurdité cette h...( read more)istoire aux morales tout de même bien pesées. Von Trier comme on le voit rarement, mais toujours aussi doué.
  • ronansprake
    August 4, 2009
    ronansprake
    A funny concept poorly executed, with stilted and unconvincing performances.
  • egyptiansushi
    May 13, 2009
    egyptiansushi
    Interestingly odd direction style.
  • arashxak
    March 16, 2009
    arashxak
    Pretentious & unengaging, Comedy,Von Trier style
  • sagapart12
    February 11, 2009
    sagapart12
    Ridiculous and enjoyable. Everything you'd hope for from a comedy by Von Trier. I love it.
  • InfamousHugo
    December 20, 2008
    InfamousHugo
    THE BOSS OF IT ALL (2006)
    directed by Lars Von Trier
    starring Jens Albinus, Peter Gantzler, Iben Hjejle

    There is a window, showed from the outside of a building. The camera's reflection can be seen and Lars Von Trier himself int
    ...( read more)roduces his film, he tells us this is a comedy. His intervention comes back three more times in the film and Im still not sure if any of them were useful. In his first comment, he says his film isnt pretentious, its not, but its close, but its something else, its very European, and pompous.

    This is the fourth film by Lars Von Trier I try to watch, and the first one I can finish. I never, no matter how bad a film is, stop a movie before its over, but I cant stand Lars Von Trier. I do not dislike his films, he has interesting themes and I respect the man for being a leader in a new style fo cinema. A lot like the French New Wave, Von Trier was one of the leader of a new movement in cinema that inspired a lot of young filmmakers and that is quite something. My only problem is that he brings too much art in his film and so little cinema. Yes, cinema is art, but art doesnt always make good cinema, and that is why I find it hard to appreciate his body of work.

    The Boss of it All is a comedy, which is quite unusual for Lars Von Trier, and even if I smiled three or four times throughout the film I didnt really think it was funny. The jokes were there but there was something missing, timming.

    A man built a company ten years ago, now he wants to sell it, so he hires an actor to play his boss, cause he always felt too wussy to act like the boss. For ten years he lied to his employees giving them orders, telling them it came from the boss of it all. I thought the film would be about the preparation of the actor to deal the selling properly but instead, the film spends a week or so in the office, with the actor answering plenty of questions, having to deal without any knowledge of what the actual boss told the others about his character. But he gets out of all those situations pretty well. He is a methodic actor, so he tries to build his persona, slowly, but surely, but he is a lousy actor and the kind who are a bit pretentious and he is extremely annoying.

    Situations are built to create some funny moments, but none of the characters really get developped and its hard to care about any of them, maybe if we could have known them better, the laugh would have come out, which is almost the case near then end when we at least, got a glimpse of who those people are. Of course its not supposed to be laugh-out-loud funny, its sarcastic and absurd, but the coldness of the acting made it very strange.

    The Boss of it All doesnt really have rythm, its slow and short, but it felt longer than Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. Its not a bad film, far from that, just a hard one to enjoy, especially if you dont know what to expect, at least I knew with Lars Von Trier attached to it.
  • Snowcat21
    December 7, 2008
    Snowcat21
    didn't get to finish it but was pretty funny, although some of the cinematography and editing could and should have been sharper.

View All The Boss of it All (Direktøren for det hele) Reviews

Critic Reviews

February 29, 2008
Nigel Andrews, The Financial Times

The script and story are what matter. They are as neat and interlocked as nail scissors. They are also grimly funny. full review

June 29, 2007
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

Not quite funny enough, and it's undermined by its camera technique. full review

June 1, 2007
Ty Burr, Boston Globe

Who knew the man had a workplace comedy in him, let alone one this sharp? full review

View more The Boss of it All (Direktøren for det hele) reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

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