If you go down to the woods today... Well, just don't. Danish provocateur Lars von Trier's arthouse psychohorror Antichrist is the most controversial film of the year -- and the most gruelling. Written by von Trier while he was bedridden with depression, it sees Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg as a grieving couple who retreat to a woodland cabin to recover from the death of their baby son. But healing quickly turns to horror as their wounds are ripped wide open: hardcore sex, ultraviolence, emotional meltdown, graphic torture and, um, a talking fox. It's a bizarre, powerful, audacious curio that's tough to swallow but even harder to ignore. Having spent his career ripping up the cinematic rulebook with daring, dazzling movies like The Idiots, Dancer In The Dark and Dogville, von Trier calls Antichrist the most important film of his life.
It's a great title for a horror film...
Lars von Trier: I always thought it was a good title. It's not really a horror film and it's not really religious. So if it's a good title for this film, I don't know! But it's a good title.
Did you expect Antichrist to be so controversial?
LvT: No, not really. That suits me fine. I could see that in Cannes that there were people beforehand that had decided already either not to like it or like it. But very few countries are going to censor the film. The only country in Europe that's going to censor it is Germany. In America, we don't know yet. It's not a big problem for me.
How did you persuade Willem Dafoe to star?
LvT: Originally, we were thinking of younger people. But Willem sent me a letter asking if I had some work for him. And I said, 'Sure!' He was a little reluctant to start with, but then my wife did this brilliant thing. She said, 'You dare not take the part!' And you shouldn't say that to Willem! So he jumped in.
Is it true that Eva Green wanted to play the female role?
LvT: We spent a long time looking for the female. And yes, Eva Green wanted to do it so we nearly had a Bond girl in the film! We had lots of discussions but her agents definitely didn't want her to do it. We wasted two months. I was so mad, because you can't wait two months.
So how did you get Charlotte Gainsbourg?
LvT: Charlotte came in and said, 'I'm dying to get the part no matter what.' So I think it was a decision she made very early and she stuck to it. We had no problems whatsoever.
Charlotte Gainsbourg in Antichrist.
Was she worried about the nudity and violence?
LvT: After reading the script and discussing with me how those scenes were going to be made, there was never any doubt in her mind. That's fantastic. And I'm very, very happy that she got the Best Actress prize in Cannes. It was a courageous performance because she is a very, very shy person.
What about the hardcore sex scenes?
LvT: We used porn actors. In fact, it was funny, for the scene in which she masturbates him and the blood comes out, they just kept on going. I could not understand it. And then someone told me that in porn you are not allowed to stop until the director tells you! So this poor guy was incredible...
Do you worry that audiences with get numbed to the violence?
LvT: Yeah, yeah, of course. But when you think about all the footage we now see from real life, I feel like you can show anything. But then when it becomes fictional, there's a limitation. So it's very strange.
You've been suffering from depression for some time. How did that affect you on this film?
LvT: I felt like an old man that was helped through the film by the actors. I was not at my very best, so all the things that I normally enjoy, I was not able to do. I couldn't direct and handle a camera at the same time. I just didn't have the mental capacity. I have been under therapy for several years.
tomwaitsjr writes: on Jul 22 2009 10:44 AM Homer's spirit animal was also a fox. Will Homer be in this movie?? (Reply to this) |
Moonpig123 writes: on Jul 22 2009 11:56 AM Haha! That would be a good film. (Reply to this) |
JHE writes: on Jul 22 2009 02:33 PM lets do some shrooms together von trier (Reply to this) |
jokerboy1991 writes: on Jul 22 2009 10:38 PM I cant wait to see this, any movie that causes controversy always gains my interest. (Reply to this) |
Mearsheimer writes: on Jul 23 2009 02:17 AM Even though, as the interview indicates, it is not really Willem Dafoe ejaculating blood, the thought of it is acutely horrifying. (Reply to this) |
Guy G. writes: on Jul 23 2009 09:07 AM I am glad to hear that a nice lady did not have to document herself getting bonked for real etc, its a shame an actor or actress has to do that. I will still watch the film though. (Reply to this) |
Gordon Franklin Terry Sr writes: on Jul 23 2009 01:37 PM Audiences always love films about God and the Devil L'anticristo (1974). And of course this Art being expressed by a guy who doesn%u2019t appear to be seeking the face of God through his art. The audience is going to see a film written and directed by a miserable-feeling writer and director about miserable-feeling characters the miserable-feeling writer/director has dreamt-up while feeling miserable. Entitling the film Antichrist is a fairly exploitable decision to %u201Cmake%u201D the film earn money. The miserable-feeling writer/director also appears to think entitling his film Antichrist is a good because the writer/director doesn%u2019t really appear to be seeking a greater understanding of God%u2019s Word. The Kingdom of God, the peace and love of God, we read in Luke 17:21 is not anything found without (or outside) but is found within. God put an end-solution for guilt/sorrow/depression within us that we must access through fasting and prayer. An ideal Antichrist would be a journey through the darkest pit of misery and to a greater undulating incline toward arriving at a keener understanding of God. Luke.17:20-21 [20] And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: [21] Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. %u201CThink God%u201D Oh God Book II. GFT. (Reply to this) |
mary o. writes: on Jul 31 2009 07:51 AM Loved this imaginative film. I think its unusual perspective on 'gynocide' and the history of murdered or 'witchified' women is unusual and free of polemic - which appeals to me very much. Found the final image of the crowd of women moving up the hill moving and beautiful. Other aspects I also loved: the idea of 'The Three beggars', the talking fox, the gradual revelation of the wife's suggested madness. The sex scenes were not gratuitous but totally right for this film. All in all it was a journey to a dark side which still reveals enormous beauty and raises questions of many kinds. Thanks Lars! (Reply to this) |
man in the water writes: on Aug 03 2009 03:38 PM I'm waiting for this film to get a release. I would like to see it (Reply to this) |
D.Lee.E writes: on Sep 14 2009 08:52 PM I really want to see this movie but i don't think they will let me go in because no person over 18 wants to watch it with me they think its creepy. I guess i'll have to wait till it comes out on DVD. (Reply to this) |
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