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| Lars von Trier has earned a reputation as one of the best and most controversial directors in contemporary cinema. (Photo by Georges Biard) |
With polarizing Danish director Lars von Trier's new film, "Nymphomaniac," set for a Christmas release, hype has been steadily building over the past few months. It began when the director announced that the film will be an introduction to a new genre of film, digressionism. The two part film, which seems set to be on par with the ballsy director's most controversial as it will feature unsimulated sex, something star Shia LaBeouf claims to be absolutely for real, has been promoted through a slow release of content to the public. Every month the film's official website has been releasing a new short clip to introduce the chapters of the film, each ambiguous and more suggestive than the last. Recent releases have also included a set of risqué promo photos. In honor of von Trier's latest exploits, here is my list of the director's top five films:
5. "Europa" (1991) - The third and final film of von Trier's first trilogy also serves as the final film before his style transformation. This is not to say that the film veers that far away from typical von Trier traits; it is experimental, surrealistic and above all else, dark (some critics have noted that the film imitates many film-noir conventions), all things that scream von Trier. However, the director's next film, "Breaking the Waves," saw a switch to almost entirely handheld and grainy camera work broken up with highly stylized still shots, something that would become a trademark of a von Trier film in his later work. In that respect, "Europa" is a much more formalistic von Trier. It is beautifully shot in black and white with an occasional burst of color (sometimes both within the same shot) and tells the story of an obliviously idealistic American (Jean-Marc Barr) who sets off to work as a train conductor in post World War II U.S.-occupied Germany. He falls for a femme fatale (Barbara Sukowa) and soon finds himself in the middle of a terrorist conspiracy. Though it is not typical von Trier as film fans have come to know him, "Europa" remains one of his best.
4. "Antichrist" (2009) - No film has created more controversy in recent years than von Trier's "Antichrist." The film's premier at the 2009 Cannes Film Festical saw at least four people faint due to its explicit content and von Trier was even asked by a journalist to justify bringing the film to Cannes, to which he famously replied that he considered the audience to be his guests and that he did not need to justify the film. The reason for the outcry is obvious: the film features graphic sex, uncensored self-mutilation and thematic elements that have been viewed by some as antifeminist. Some scenes of the film are, in fact, extremely hard to watch. Yet there are many aspects of the film that are too intriguing for serious film fans to ignore. In fact, for all of its high profile negative response, critical reception of the film has been just about split down the middle. It's opening scene, one of von Trier's steadily shot montages, is among the more beautiful of his career. It is shot in black and white slow motion with a very deep focus and features a couple (Charlotte Gainsbourg and Willem Dafou) having what appears to be passionate sex. At the same time, the couple's child, a young baby, climbs out of a window and falls to his death. All of this is set to the exquisite "Lascia ch'io pianga" by George Frideric Handel. The scene is both shocking and beautiful, which is a good indication of what is to come. The rest of the narrative deals with the couple's attempts to stem grief resulting from the death of their son, and as they retreat to a cabin in the woods, madness prevails. For all of its naysayers, and as hard as it is to watch, scenes of stunning beauty make "Antichrist" a must-see for von Trier fans.
3. "Melancholia" (2011) - Von Trier has admittedly suffered from depression over the years (he wrote "Antichrist" during one of his all-time lows) and in 2011, he took to his profession to attack his affliction head-on. In "Melancholia" one gets the feeling that what they are being shown is beyond research; it's the type of thing one must know first hand. Coming from an experimental director like von Trier, this is not exactly as it sounds, but there is a pervading authenticity throughout the film. "Melancholia" tells three interwoven stories split into two chapters. The first is that of Justine (a brilliant Kirsten Dunst in her best performance to date), a sufferer of chronic depression who is attempting to get married and lead a normal life. The second story belongs to Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg), Justine's sister who cares for her during her depression episodes, and the third is the impending end of the world at the hands of a rogue planet named Melancholia that is predicted by scientists to be on a collision course with Earth. Von Trier uses this premise to explore the parallels of depression and everyday life. In the real world, the depressed cannot function, but in the face of a disaster, roles are reversed. "Melancholia" features gorgeous cinematography, daring performances and a powerful vision of depression and destruction.
2. "Dancer in the Dark" (2000) - Every experimental director has at least one film that is grossly overlooked, and this is von Trier's. What "Dancer in the Dark" should be viewed as is an absolute confirmation of von Trier as an actor's director and one of the most unlikely in film history at that. On paper his style should take attention away from performances and place it instead on the making of his films, yet time and again he draws spectacular performances from his stars. Notably, these performances are never replicated again by the stars. The first and most notable of these performances is his shaping of Emily Watson's "Bess" in "Breaking the Waves"; although Watson has had a couple of compelling performances since ("Hilary and Jackie" among others), nothing comes close to her acting debut with von Trier. In "Dancer in the Dark," von Trier provokes an absolutely heart-wrenching and scarily authentic performance from Icelandic singer Björk, who had only previously appeared in one film. Björk plays Selma, a Czech immigrant who has come to the United States with her son, Gene, and is struggling to make ends meet with a factory job and very poor eye sight. Selma is the embodiment of innocence (the film is the third and final addition to von Trier's "Golden Heart Trilogy" which focuses on innocence wronged) and as she is continually taken advantage of, von Trier simultaneously plays with your heart-strings. The film's ending is, typical of all great von Trier scenes, both haunting and beautiful. It's a shame that what this film shows of von Trier's ability to draw pure performances from his leads was not truly recognized until what he drew from Kirsten Dunst in "Melancholia" because it takes notoriety away from what is an all-time great film. Björk was so emotionally drained from the role that upon completion of the film, she claimed she would never act again, which makes sense, as this is the type of performance actors and actresses often leave a part of themselves in. Experimental as always, von Trier uses a compelling combination of musical numbers and drama to achieve his final product, but it is what he forces out of his star that makes "Dancer in the Dark" a special film.
