ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the representation of holy foolishness in Danish cinema, by providing the context holy fools and their representation against the backdrop of Danish culture. It focuses on the directors Carl Theodor Dreyer and Lars von Trier, whose work is particularly marked by representations of holy foolishness. The religious context for holy foolishness is often brought to the fore in Danish cinema, but recently the idea of folly has received a modern treatment through the Dogme 95 movement. In line with the iconoclastic turn in Danish cinema Ivan's foolishness is treated in a comic vein dictated by the rules of the genre. Adam's Apples can be read as a film about the possibility of faith in a world in which innocent people are confronted with deeply traumatic events. The representation of holy fool in Danish cinema is used to unveil all that is askew with the world and point towards the possible existence of a better universe.
