The Boss of it All (Direktøren for det hele) (2006)

74% of critics liked it
(65 reviews)
68% of users liked it
(6,403 ratings)

Lars von Trier's black comedy The Boss of It All (Direktøren for Det Hele) concerns an IT company owner who -- in need of a figurehead to "hide behind" when confronted with employee problems -- invented the personage of a CEO during the startup period for his corporation. The scheme worked for a… More Lars von Trier's black comedy The Boss of It All (Direktøren for Det Hele) concerns an IT company owner who -- in need of a figurehead to "hide behind" when confronted with employee problems -- invented the personage of a CEO during the startup period for his corporation. The scheme worked for a surprisingly long period, but when the time arrives to sell the business, massive problems arise -- for the prospective buyers insist on only negotiating with the CEO, in person. Thus, the owner further extends the ruse, by hiring a down-and-out actor to impersonate the chief officer. With Direktøren for Det Hele, von Trier uses a new means of filmmaking for this film: Automavision, whereby filming is done with an "automatic randomized camera" that selects the shots. It became a means for Von Trier to "clean up" his approach to directorial work and reconnect with his own love of filmmaking. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Play Trailer

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 38 min.
Directed By: Lars von Trier
Written By: Lars von Trier
Genres: Comedy

In Theaters: Apr 13, 2007 Wide
On DVD: Sep 18, 2007
Studio: IFC First Take

Critic Reviews

John Monaghan, Detroit Free Press
In the humor department, The Boss of It All elicits few belly laughs but lots of thoughtful chuckles.
Andrea Gronvall, Chicago Reader
Scenes are thus punctuated by as many jump cuts as punch lines--a technique that amplifies the sly humor.
Bill Stamets, Chicago Sun-Times
Perverse humor pervades the films of Lars von Trier.
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune
Bone-dry but completely assured, both in its visual strategy and its wry deconstruction of the workplace comedy genre.
Geoff Pevere, Toronto Star
How fitting for the film that a computer is calling the shots. But how disappointing for us that it can't punch up a script.
Stephen Cole, Globe and Mail
Here's hoping Lars von Trier's retirement will be brief. Cinema needs meddlesome provocateurs. An occasional stone in the shoe keeps us alert.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
An appealing low-budget quirky spoof on corporations.
Derek Malcolm, This is London
A bit of a shambles, but perhaps in its lack of von Trier's usual pretensions will lie the charm of this film for some.
, thelondonpaper
Full of in-jokes for Von Trier fans and oddly shot, the quirkiness will probably be lost on those unfamiliar with the Dogme 95 man's work.
Anthony Quinn, Independent
Von Trier has evidently been watching The Office, and replicates both its soulless setting and fly-on-the-desk camera-style, not to mention the Brentian fear of being unpopular.
Nigel Andrews, Financial Times
The script and story are what matter. They are as neat and interlocked as nail scissors. They are also grimly funny.
Sukhdev Sandhu, Daily Telegraph
Von Trier may be commenting on the mechanical, dehumanised nature of corporate decision-making, or of Hollywood filmmaking. Maybe he's just being whimsical. It's always hard to tell with this joker-provocateur. And always completely fascinating.
Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK]
In some ways, I enjoyed this movie more than any of his features, and yet it's sad that he has drawn in his horns so much.
Kevin Maher, Times [UK]
Despite roguish interventions from Von Trier himself (in voiceover, and on screen), the movie has more in common with Working Girl and Trading Places than anything from Europe's leading auteur. Which, it seems, is a lucky, liberating thing.
, Little White Lies
Light, frothy and bitingly funny with a pleasingly dark underside.
Leigh Singer, Film4
Less contentious than typical Von Trier but also less satisfying; fun but perhaps too stiflingly clever to allow the comedy room to breathe.
Neil Smith, BBC
A movie that manages to be both brilliantly witty and delightfully subversive - not least for reportedly entrusting all its cinematography to a computer.
Neil Smith, Total Film
For all the sleights of hand its director conjures up, this is an undeniably slight affair. But it's still a sublimely entertaining one from a maverick confident enough in his abilities to make fun of his previous work and his agent provocateur persona.
, Sky Movies
Unpolished, but winning.
Sam Toy, Empire Magazine
Von Trier's deconstructionist streak stymies this admirable attempt at a comedy.

Read all 20 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Drew S

I think The Boss of it All is the only von Trier film I truly dislike. Breaking the Waves was another, initially, and though I definitely still have my misgivings about it a second viewing sort of brought me around on the film's merits. This is a marginally clever treatment of… More
I think The Boss of it All is the only von Trier film I truly dislike. Breaking the Waves was another, initially, and though I definitely still have my misgivings about it a second viewing sort of brought me around on the film's merits. This is a marginally clever treatment of viewership and an unconventional look at comedy in general, but in the scope of his filmography I don't think it really offers anything new. The idea of him creating a comedy so heavily reliant on cliche that he himself has to apologize through narration for the film is sort of interesting, but the novelty doesn't sustain 98 minutes' worth of viewing. It's funny how intent can so radically change a comedy's reception. This is, all told, the most generic office comedy of errors you could possibly imagine, and some people seem to think it's exceptionally funny. It's really not even remotely on its own terms, with von Trier's lampshading providing the only real chuckles, and even that isn't all that inspired. Not recommended, unless you're hellbent on watching all of his films.
Anthony L

Unlike many, I don't feel The Boss of it all is a departure from Von Trier's typical work or that it's his worst to date. It reminds me a lot of The Idiots in many ways, probably helped by the brilliant performance by Jens Albinus but also because it's just as… More
Unlike many, I don't feel The Boss of it all is a departure from Von Trier's typical work or that it's his worst to date. It reminds me a lot of The Idiots in many ways, probably helped by the brilliant performance by Jens Albinus but also because it's just as funny, often uncomfortably so. It is probably destined to be compared with The Office though, a lazy comparison of an over-hyped series.
Arash X

Pretentious & unengaging, Comedy,Von Trier style
Gordon A

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… More
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 plot loses its tenuous grip on reality altogether at the end.
Walter M

[font=Century Gothic]"The Boss of It All" is a surprisingly deft comedy by Lars von Trier about an actor, Kristoffer(Jens Albinus), who is hired to impersonate the imaginary boss of a software company by the real boss, Ravn(Peter Gantzler), to seal a deal.(Ravn invented the… More
[font=Century Gothic]"The Boss of It All" is a surprisingly deft comedy by Lars von Trier about an actor, Kristoffer(Jens Albinus), who is hired to impersonate the imaginary boss of a software company by the real boss, Ravn(Peter Gantzler), to seal a deal.(Ravn invented the imaginary boss, so none of the tough decisions would be blamed on him. He just wants to be liked, like everybody else.) But the meeting goes awry, and Kristoffer has to keep the charade up for a week, while the deal is completed...[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]Along with being a critique of corporate culture, "The Boss of It All" is also an example of Lars von Trier taking aim at actors.(To be honest, I've never known any director to have a kind word about actors.) But he also turns the camera on himself, quite literally in a couple of instances, and by admitting the thinness of Ravn's plan(yes Kristoffer is a bit of a numbskull, but he definitely could have used more information to go on), he also admits to the weaknesses in his script which does not have an especially strong plot and the ending is rather awkward. [/font]