Lars von Trier: "I understand Hitler"

Oh Lars, what have you done now. Dunst's reaction - priceless.



Story here, and trailer here.

Trailer: Melancholia

The trailer for Lars von Trier's highly anticipated follow-up to Antichrist, the apocalyptic sci-fi romance opus Melancholia, has finally emerged online and it's actually a lot different to what I've been expecting. I'm pretty sure the project was called Planet Melancholia at one stage, and if I remember correctly, there was some press about the film being set on another planet and von Trier stating that it would look like shit. Either I've misremembered or his script/vision has drastically changed over the past year, because it's nothing of the sort: Melancholia looks beautiful and opulent and very much set on Earth (or so it seems...). And how about that wack casting? Charlotte Gainsbourg, Kiefer Sutherland, Alexander Skarsgård, Stellan Skarsgård, John Hurt, Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Rampling!! No sign of room-clearing shocks, but seeing that it's von Trier in melodrama mode, this ain't gonna be a walk in the park. Film Fest season couldn't come any sooner...

The Coming of Antichrist

Lars von Trier's art-horror pic Antichrist, the most controversial, critically polarising film at this year's Cannes Film Festival, has been confirmed to close the NZFF!! Terrific news, 'cos after leafing through the guide several times last week I thought that the programming really could've done with a jolt, something that would grab you by the throat and cause a bit of kerfuffle (The confirmation of this film - which stars Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg - might even see the return of David Lane and his moral watchdog fraternity, the so-called "Society for the Promotion of Community Standards", who've been pretty quiet in recent times).

Apparently making the film was a therapeutic process for the often-derided, often-divisive Danish arthouse titan, who was battling depression for a couple of years. I think of all the press I've read about the film, the most illuminating might be Roger Ebert's blog where he says "Lars von Trier's new film will not leave me alone". Obviously it's not a film for all tastes, but if you're a von Trier buff or a sucker for confrontational art movies, I'd say seeing Antichrist on the big screen with a crowd is something not to be missed. Here's the trailer (again, do not watch if you're squeamish or easily offended):