Cannes 2011: Lars, Lars, Lars.

I've pretty much abandoned this blog entirely, but I feel particularly compelled at the moment to discuss the recent Cannes Film Festival and the events surrounding one of my favorite filmmakers, both for his work and his insanity as a human being: Mr. Lars Von Trier. A little background on dear Lars and the Cannes Film Festival. Two years ago, his film Antichrist received an Anti-Award from the Cannes Ecumenical Jury, declaring it the most misogynistic film ever made. Yet somehow, Charlotte Gainsbourg still ended up winning the Palme d'Or for Best Actress.

Since then, Von Trier has retreated quietly into the shadows to make his new film, Melancholia, which also just saw its premiere at Cannes. In true Von Trier fashion, he elected himself official shock-jock of the festival and in a garbled rant that, while completely tasteless, was misinterpreted as a blatant confession of antisemitism and sympathy for the National Socialist party. Von Trier prides himself on being a provocateur. Not to mention, he threw his heroine under the bus in the same press conference, announcing to the audience that Kirsten Dunst struggled with deep depression shortly before signing on for this film and he was able to manipulate that for his purposes. A class act, always.

That aside, Melancholia (which also stars Von Trier vets Aleksander Skarsgaard and Charlotte Gainsbourg) was very well-received and earned Dunst the Best Actress award. Von Trier apologized for his comments but, after two years of essentially deciding he was the most pig-headed filmmaker on earth, the Cannes Film Festival has finally put itself out of its own misery and banned him from ever returning. And while I do understand this decision to an extent, I also have to ask: Cannes, have you ever met Lars Von Trier? He is notorious for his complete inability to interact with other human beings in any kind of normal social convention. He has blatantly confessed to the world that he hates women. I mean, The man was cracking jokes about directing a porno starring Dunst and Gainsbourg for heaven's sake...while they were both sitting next to him. Well...at least now we can just watch his movies in peace without having to hear the nonsense that comes out of his mouth. Still...



I'm going to miss you, buddy.

Movie News!

So let’s dive right in here with a story I literally just read but am very jazzed about. Several months ago, the History Channel announced that they would be airing their first scripted drama in 2011 in the form of an 8-part miniseries about the life of JFK called “The Kennedys”. Some people (myself included) have expressed some concern over the fact that it is being written and produced by the people who made 24 as they are openly conservative. However, I have faith that the History Channel is aware of how much hype this thing is already getting and they’ll make sure it’s as legit as it can be. And with the new announcement of casting, it sounds like they will be successful. John F. Kennedy will be played by Greg Kinnear with Katie Holmes as Jackie. They have also cast Barry Pepper as Robert F. Kennedy and ultimate mini-series actor Tom Wilkinson as Joseph Kennedy. Personally, I am stoked. Kinnear is one of my favorite actors and I never actually realized how much he looks like JFK until just now. And finally, FINALLY Katie Holmes has found her chance to actually prove herself as an actress and not just the brain-washed kept woman of a psychopath.

= ? Really?

Other casting news, Penelope Cruz has dropped out of Lars Von Trier’s upcoming film “Melancholia” to be replaced by…Kirsten Dunst? This is where the info gets fuzzy because Charlotte Gainsbourg is also cast and I have a much easier time believing that she could take over a Penelope Cruz role than Kirsten Dunst, who I’m pretty sure is the complete visual opposite of Penelope Cruz. Not surprisingly, Cruz has opted to do the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean film over Von Trier’s film. On the one hand, I’m sad because I’m sure she would be phenomenal in it and I’m always looking to see her in meaty roles, but on the other, a gal’s gotta make money. And she is literally the only reason I will see the Pirates movie so I think it’s for the best.

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Now for some DEVASTATING casting news. As you recall, in my last Movie News post, I expressed utter glee and delight at the news that Christoph Waltz would be playing Sigmund Freud in the upcoming film “The Talking Cure.” Well….now he isn’t. It’s Viggo Mortensen. I love Viggo, I really do, but if there was ANYONE who was truly meant to play Freud it is Christoph Waltz. On top of this, they’ve changed the name of the film to “A Dangerous Method” which, at the risk of sounding stupid, sounds really stupid.



In lighter events, Carey Mulligan has now officially been cast in Emma Thompson’s remake of My Fair Lady AND an English version of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Not sure what’s happening with the film of The Seagull, but if I find out it’s been scrapped I will probably injure someone. This Christoph Waltz business is bad enough.

"A crying woman is a scheming woman." Antichrist.

I first heard about Lars Von Trier’s ‘Antichrist’ last year during the Cannes Film Festival when Charlotte Gainsbourg took home the coveted Best Actress Palme d’Or for her portrayal of “She”. The film also received an “anti-award” from the ecumenical jury of the festival, who declared it to be “the most misogynist movie from the self-proclaimed biggest director in the world.” Indeed, the film is profoundly anti-women, yet the sexism comes from She, not He (Willem Defoe).

Antichrist is depicted in four chapters and bookended by a Prologue and Epilogue. In the Prologue, we see He and She have passionate sex while their infant son, in the next room, crawls out of his crib and falls to his death from his window. The film then begins with chapter 1, ‘Grief’, in which She goes into such a profound state of mourning that she needs to be hospitalized. He, a therapist, is wary of how many pills she is taking and decides to treat her himself through exposure therapy, bringing her to their serene woodland getaway, aptly called Eden.

As She begins to unravel, the story moves on to Chapter 2, ‘Pain (Chaos Reigns)’, in which He starts to understand why She has come to fear Eden, as the very nature surrounding them seems to hold a keen sense of menace and foreboding. This leads to her explanation that nature is 'Satan's Church' and that woman's nature is fundamentally evil, a conclusion she achieved while studying Gynocide in and around the 12th century for her thesis, which she attempted to write during her last trip to Eden.

The final two chapters, ‘Despair (Gynocide)’ and ‘The Three Beggars’ bring the film to its bloody climax, involving disturbing sexual violence in which She smashes her husband’s testicles with a wooden plank, masturbates him until he ejaculates blood, and drills a hole into his leg so she can bolt him to a heavy grind-stone. In her final act of self-hatred, She severs her clitoris with a pair of rusty scissors.

I knew of these scenes before seeing the film, and when I first learned of them, I immediately told myself ‘absolutely not. I am not seeing this movie.’ However, as something of a masochist, at least when it comes to film, curiosity got the best of me, and I am ultimately thankful it did. Many reviews I read describe it as being strangely beautiful, and at first I thought those people must be severely disturbed. However, now that I have seen it, I find myself in their position. Is it profoundly horrific and disturbing? Absolutely. But it also contains images so haunting and delicate that it is impossible to ignore the film’s overall sense of beauty. This is achieved through a keen use of the language of cinematography, employed most expertly in the Prologue.

Ultimately, I am still rather stumped by this film. I truly do not know what to make of it. I certainly cannot say I disliked it, it is unlike any film I have ever seen, but at the same time, I have absolutely no desire to ever go near it again. And so, no, I do not recommend Antichrist. Viewing this film is a decision that has to be made by the individual, as I truly believe it is a different experience for each member of the audience.