2018 drama...or maybe comedy
Rating: 14/20
Plot: A serial killer details five violent incidents to Bruno Ganz.
I was taking some notes in an effort to break down what I think this sorta-messy movie might mean, but I gave up. I assume it's autobiographical, the five incidents described by the titular serial killer alluding to stages in the ornery career of Lars Von Trier, but I don't know if I'm at a stage in my life where I want to think all that much about his career. Repeated references to Glenn Gould, all the stuff about engineering with cathedrals and arches, a William Blake shout-out, duck feet. There's a lot to digest in this one. I have no doubts that it all comes together, and that Von Trier was taking us to specific places through choppy waters. Well, I take that back. I have doubts that it all comes together because a cinematic prankster was at the helm, and this boat might have just been drifting around aimlessly.
It was definitely entertaining enough although my wife seemed annoyed that she had to be in the same room with it. I tried to tell her that the director wanted us to feel uncomfortable, but she wouldn't buy it. I was surprised at how funny the movie was, lots of dialogue or actions frequently deflating this protagonist, making him much closer to a joke than the psychopathic genius he was supposed to be. There was a surprising amount of really dark comedy that worked here.
Still, I don't really want to watch this again to better decipher the thing. It's odd to me how intellectual and seemingly impenetrable a lot of this is while a lot of the symbolism and allusions seem like something a first-year film school student would come up with.
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