Movies: von Trier

2009 horror film

Rating: 12/20

Plot: A married couple struggling with a personal loss ventures to a cabin in the woods to try to work through their feelings. Things get graphic.

This is difficult viewing. Like The Wacky and Whimsical Whites of West Virginia, this is the sort of movie that I don't seem to be able to handle very well anymore. I can stomach a lot, but there are at least two shots in Antichrist that I just wish weren't there. Certain things seen, it's been said, cannot be unseen, and I'll admit that I flinched more than once during this one. This is a beautifully-filmed movie and the imagery is powerful for the most part, but von Trier seems to enjoy making me (and I suspect most people) really uncomfortable. Trust me--this one is difficult visually and it's difficult emotionally. A beginning black 'n' white montage, thought stunningly poetic and tragically beautiful, is tough, and things just get worse from there. It's also got Daniel Dafoe who I always have trouble believing is a real person. I'm not sure his penis is real either actually. Charlotte Gainsbourg is solid, and both of the leads wrestle bravely with some of the most challenging roles I think I've ever seen. I don't know why I said "leads" there because with the exception of a little kid at the beginning and some faceless walking symbols near the end, there aren't any other characters. Unless animals count. Talking animals. You know, the kind of talking self-cannabalizing foxes that you're used to seeing in a Disney flick. Ants and hawks, weird subtle wobbly cam effects, a CGI grotesque fawn, ominous acorns, and the tree-root/hand thing you see on the poster up there. I didn't get all the symbolism being shoved in my face, probably because the movie stole my will to live. This one pulls no punches.

1984 futurist noir

Rating: 14/20

Plot: Detective Fisher comes back to Europe after an extended stay in Egypt to help solve a series of murders. He meets with his old mentor and uses his book, The Element of Crime, to try to crack the case.

I'm really amazed that this is somebody first movie. Not that it's thoroughly enjoyable or even really all that coherent, at least after one viewing, but it's got the wankery of a seasoned veteran of movie directing. Influenced heavily by some of cinema's most daring farts, von Trier (a Nazi) still manages to make something completely unique. It's a visual thrill although the story's a bit of a clunker, all these weirdly-lit shots that look like they could have come from a 30s Carl Theodor Dreyer movie. This also recalls Alphaville a bit, a dreamier and more pretentious (if you can believe it) Godard sci-fi noir for your mind's stink eye. But after a while, my tired mind wandered pretty far away from the center of this one as I had trouble following what was going on exactly. The allure or novelty of the visual flavor of The Element of Crime wore off, and there just wasn't enough story or character to cling to. It's worth watching if you're into the artsy-fartsy scene, but this will likely frustrate anybody who's used to normal movies.