Lars von Trier

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Has anyone seen his latest; "Anti-Christ"?

I've seen "Breaking the Waves", which I thought was harrowing and brilliant, and "Dancer in the Dark"; even more harrowing, and extraordinary. But didn't see "Dogville" or the one after, ( Manderley? ).

I've been reading the reviews of A-C and it sounds even more shattering than Dancer.

Do people think the emotional battering is a necessary and important part of his films? What do others think of Dancer, etc.

I think it helped me to remember how desperately I loved my mother as an infant/baby, and how I would have done anything, absolutely anything, to please her, to keep her happy and unworried.

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well as far as I can tell, the emotional battering ARE his films. I don't know anything about "Anti-Christ" but I've seen the three films you mentioned, plus some of his 80's work which is very, very different. "Zentropa" and "Element of Crime" are exercises in precise cinematic style rather than the "verite" documentary type hand held camera stuff you see in his later work. You see a little of his more labored styling in "Dancer in the Dark", which as I film I though was not that great. Ambitious, but the musical sequences felt forced to me. I'm not a huge fan of Bjork though (either as a musician or an actress). I thought "Breaking the Waves" and especially "Dogville" were excellent, though I don't remember a whole lot from either. Same type of films but without the distraction of trying to be a musical. It helped accentuate and drive home the emotional devastation.

I've also seen the "Idiots" which I was intrigued with at the time, but in retrospect I think was probably dumb. It's been a while.

Last edited by watersong2 on 28 May 2009, 9:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I like his stuff, but I couldn't watch dogville - I got it out on dvd and just found it unwatchable, just didn't hold my interest, it seemed all set in sterile interiors which was boring, plus Nicole Kidman is boring. Breaking waves and Dancer were great.

the sterility of "Dogville" was what made it so great. It focuses the viewer on the drama of the town. Conversely, "Dancer" just had way too much going on to capture any true feelings of despair and devastation. I generally like Kidman though so I'm biased in that sense.

"Breaking the Waves" was like a happy medium between those two films, in terms of style. Emily Watson carried it a lot further than it could otherwise have gone.

I have only seen Dancer in the Dark. Loved that. (One of the very, very few films I've ever cried over)

I have never been a fan of Björk's music, but I liked her songs in the film.

Especially it fascinated me how her character Selma was able to find music in all different kinds of sounds and noises, even the most everyday-like or the slightest ones.

Lars Von Trier is one of the best directors around, in my view.
however, Dogville was a sad disappointment.
Dancer in the Dark and Breaking the Waves were both very good.
It is my view that a recent film called 'Mamma Mia" starring meryl streep, is in fact a blatant lift of some of Von Trier's visual ideas in Dancer....

I have heard his latest is so replete with ideas it needs a couple of viewings.
I will see it on DVD when it hits the rental store in my town.

meh, I hated Dancer in the Dark. and I hardly ever hate films.

but von Trier will always be great for the Kingdom series alone, it's sooo cool, I love it.