1. Jorgen Leth handles some obstructions better than others. He successfully completes obstruction number 1 by going to Cuba to remake the film without using a set, using no more than 12 frames in a single edit, and answering the questions posed in the film. He fails to impress Von Trier with his completion of the second obstruction, however, and has to redo the process for the third obstruction but chooses to do it in Brussels. He is able to impress Von Trier with the fourth obstruction with the help of a cartoonist by remaking the film as a cartoon. For the fifth obstruction, Leth simply has to rend a narration written by Von Trier and he is credited as the director of the film.
2. I believe the obstructions are ultimately helpful in making a creative work. At the end of the film, Von Trier says the purpose of the film was to help Leth understand his true self, which both he and Leth believe was a success.
3. I think this film can help us with our own work by teaching us not to just accept a finished piece but to challenge the completion of it and ask ourselves what can make it better. After Leth completed the second obstruction, Von Trier didn't like it and asked for him to do it again, knowing it could be improved. I think this could be an example for us to strive for perfection and not just completion. Also, there were some really cool video editing techniques that I think could serve as examples for our video project.