Tom Elling

Perfect World

Tom Elling

Anne Mette Rosenkilde, Tabitha Vinten

Tom Elling, cinematographer for Lars von Trier's The Element Of Crime (and his earlier student works, Nocturne, The Last Detail and Befrielsesbilleder) made his debut as a feature-film director with Perfect World, a collaboration with poet Peter Laugesen. Described by Elling as a "visual poem", and by Laugesen as "a collage of dreams - of bubbles or planets in the ocean or universe", the film is very much in the same visually expressive style of The Element Of Crime (indeed, the extent of Elling's contribution to the look of Trier's early works is self-evident). One of the most intoxicatingly beautiful films I've ever seen - the luminous monochromatic cinematography, hallucinatory lighting and liquid editing make this a truly astonishing experience unlike anything else.