In Contention

Tag: Breaking the Waves

  • REVIEW: “Antichrist” (***1/2)

    AntichristEdinburgh International Film Festival

    “I am the greatest director in the world,” Lars von Trier declared in an already notorious Cannes press conference following the unveiling of “Antichrist” in May.  Unable to resist such shameless baiting, most critics either responded with affectionate exasperation (“Oh, Lars!”) or, as one suspects von Trier preferred, tomato-faced indignation.

    What few did, however, was entertain the possibility that he might be telling the truth. It’s a conclusion that, even on the imperfect evidence of “Antichrist,” this viewer is willing to consider.

    Few contemporary filmmakers are as adept at arousing feeling as Lars von Trier – by which I refer not merely to the ingenious media-provocateur act he performs to market his work, but the actual excesses and polarities of emotion he mines within his own cinema.

    Von Trier’s best films arouse equal measures of devotion and resentment because they engage human empathy with no concessions whatsoever to conventional artistic standards of restraint or good taste; like their psychologically frail heroines – Bess in “Breaking the Waves,” Selma in “Dancer in the Dark,” Grace in “Dogville” – they teeter on the brink of self-destruction simply because they feel too much.

    I must slightly temper that argument upfront by admitting that “Antichrist,” as mercurial and bruising as it so often is, is not one of von Trier’s very best. Though it by and large meets the criteria described above – and its unnamed anti-heroine is a fascinating, near-parodic amalgamation of physical traits and psychological symptoms from all the director’s women – it lacks the emotional breadth of “Breaking the Waves,” or the formal and ideological conviction of “Dogville.” Unusually for von Trier, for all the film’s sledgehammer brutality in its concluding chapters, it’s rather coy about what it actually wants to say.

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  • Back in the spotlight

    Antichrist

    UPDATE: Sorry, my fascination is unending. The Guardian’s Xan Brooks comes out in full support of the film:

    I stumble out in a daze, momentarily unsure whether I loved it or loathed it. Abruptly I realise that I love it. Von Trier has slapped Cannes with an astonishing, extraordinary picture – shocking and comical; a funhouse of terrors (of primal nature, of female sexuality) that rattles the bones and fizzes the blood before bowing out with a presumptuous dedication to Andrei Tarkovsky that had sections of the crowd hooting in fury … Pound for pound, (“A Prophet”) is surely the strongest film of the competition so far. Why, then, is it “Antichrist” that keeps me awake last night, whirling like a dervish in the darkness of the room?

    EARLIER: Somehow I get the feeling that Lars Von Trier went to bed last night a very satisfied man. After the deafening indifference that greeted “The Boss Of It All” and “Manderlay,” he arrived at Cannes with one objective more crucial than any other: to prove that his work could still inspire feeling and discussion. Point proven.

    Whether or not “Antichrist” is as awful as some people seem to think — and indeed, not everyone does think so — is  beside the point. For all his genius (and I do think he is one of the most extraordinary filmmakers of his time), Von Trier shamelessly thrives on attention; when his work is ignored, as has been the case these past six years, his own creative mojo appears to flag. Much has been said about how “Antichrist” is the product of a recent bout of severe depression; perhaps his rediscovered capacity for provocation signals a renewed willingness to engage, and a more fruitful creative period to come.

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  • THE LISTS: Top 10 Cannes runners-up of all time

    Cinema ParadisoI’ll be honest with you, readers. Struck with the idea of waking (after its winter nap) our weekly lists feature with something suitably Cannes-themed, I started with the obvious: the 10 greatest Palme d’Or winners of all time. Simple, snappy, uncomplicated.

    Or so I thought. But as I began whittling down the titles, I came to the disheartening realization that my list looked pretty much like that of everyone else who has had a go. By the time you’ve included the inarguable likes of “Apocalypse Now,” “The Leopard,” “The Third Man” and “Taxi Driver” (and hell, that’s before I even reached 1980), there’s precious little room for idiosyncratic argument, however obtuse you may be.

    (It also leaves a sadly narrow window for personal favorites: it was when I was balancing the numbers and realized that I had to boot either “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg” or “The Knack” that I began to have doubts about the enterprise.)

    The thing is, unlike the Academy Awards, the Palme d’Or goes to a genuinely great film more often than not. Sure, there are errors of judgment now and then. (“The Child” over “Cache?” What were they thinking?) And some years present a slate so rich there are bound to be slights however you deal the cards. (I certainly wouldn’t have wanted to choose between “Pulp Fiction” and “Three Colors: Red” in 1994.) But Cannes is a festival that, an impressive amount of the time, gets it right in hindsight. Too right — for my list, anyway.

    And so it was that I decided to turn my attention to the runners-up. Cannes has always awarded a silver medal of sorts, under various monikers over the years: the Special Jury Prize, the Grand Prix du Jury and, currently, the simply but sweetly named Grand Prix. A significant number of future classics have been handed this accolade, but it’s a sadly undersung one: as with so many things in life, first place is all that counts in the history books.

    So I’m taking a moment to give this honorable category of winners their due. What follows is my selection of the 10 greatest runners-up in Cannes history. There’s a daunting range of films to choose from (check out the full list here and here), so this list turned out to be pretty agonizing too. (No “L’avventura?” Mon dieu!) A couple of titles here were robbed, but many of them were simply unlucky to come up against formidable competitors. All of them, however, deserve to recognized as the Cannes champs they are.

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  • New WTF still from Von Trier’s ‘Antichrist’

    I go back and forth with Lars Von Trier.  Lots of respect for “Breaking the Waves,” hated “Dancer in the Dark,” “Dogville” topped my list in 2004 (though shamefully I’ve yet to see “Manderlay”), etc., etc.  But I can’t wait to see “Antichrist.”  This new still from the film totally freaks me out but I can’t look away.  What’s most striking, however, is how classy the composition is.  I thought about linking rather than posting, since “NSFW” is arguable, but I figured screw it (no pun intended):

    Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg in Antichrist

    (Courtesy: filmz.dk)