Robin PottratzVon Trier's "Antichrist" shocks and disturbs...but also captivates ***1/2 stars out of 4
November 17th 2009 04:08
It has the distinction of being the most shocking film in the history of the Cannes film festival. Antichrist, the latest demonstration in provocation from the notoriously off balance Lars Von Trier more than lives up to its reputation. It is shocking, barbaric, and disturbing beyond belief...yet it is also one of the most captivating films I have seen this year.
Antichrist starts in dark territory and keeps slowly delving into the black abyss of our own nightmares and dares the audience to follow. In the haunting prologue, a couple (Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg) screw like rabbits in the shower while their infant son falls out of their third story window to his death, all to the tune of a soft operetta.
Instead of accepting their grief as a part of life...the husband, who is a therapist, decides to treat the situation himself instead of leaving it in the hands of those with no emotional investment. I will tell you that you will not find two more emotionally distant people in a film this year that the creations of Dafoe and Gainsbourg. Despite their cold interactions, both actors deliver truly captivating performances which hold the bounds of reality even as everything spins out of control.
There is however one frequent situation that the couple seem to connect...featured below:
Whenever "He" and "She" screw their heads off...it is the closest that they have to any demonstration of love.
Other than those instances, this is a couple at their breaking point. As a last ditch effort to help his wife, the therapist decides to take a trip to the woods named "Eden," (nice touch) seeing as the woods are the place where the wife feels the most exposed. What comes during their trip is some of the most simultaneously shocking and gripping scenes in recent film memory.
Much has been made about these scenes...some call it torture porn, others call it immoral and wrong, some call it misogynistic and some call it art. I don't want to give the details of these scenes...but they depict genital mutilation in a way that combines extreme close ups, stomach churning violence, and graphic sexuality One thing is for sure...for those who witness it...these scenes will have a permanent place in the dark corners of your mind.
Ironically enough, it is the reputation of these scenes that give Antichrist its wings. Once the couple ventures out to "Eden," there is a sense of impending doom that hovers over the film like a dark cloud. It is that fear of the inevitable that is experienced by both the actors on screen and the participants in the audience. It is also that feeling that pins you to your seat and chills you to the bone...something that I have not experienced in a film in quite some time.
When the film reaches its horrific and grisly conclusion and potent epilogue, you feel as though you have experienced something that you know you shouldn't have...but are all the better for it.
Don't get me wrong Antichrist is not for everyone (hell it isn't for 99% of the population) but for those of you who aren't too squeamish I recommend that you take on the challenge of Antichrist to test not only your tolerance for disturbing content...but the ability of your mind to experience something truly terrifying.
Antichrist starts in dark territory and keeps slowly delving into the black abyss of our own nightmares and dares the audience to follow. In the haunting prologue, a couple (Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg) screw like rabbits in the shower while their infant son falls out of their third story window to his death, all to the tune of a soft operetta.
Instead of accepting their grief as a part of life...the husband, who is a therapist, decides to treat the situation himself instead of leaving it in the hands of those with no emotional investment. I will tell you that you will not find two more emotionally distant people in a film this year that the creations of Dafoe and Gainsbourg. Despite their cold interactions, both actors deliver truly captivating performances which hold the bounds of reality even as everything spins out of control.
There is however one frequent situation that the couple seem to connect...featured below:
Charlotte Gainsbourg and Willem Defoe as "He
Whenever "He" and "She" screw their heads off...it is the closest that they have to any demonstration of love.
Other than those instances, this is a couple at their breaking point. As a last ditch effort to help his wife, the therapist decides to take a trip to the woods named "Eden," (nice touch) seeing as the woods are the place where the wife feels the most exposed. What comes during their trip is some of the most simultaneously shocking and gripping scenes in recent film memory.
Much has been made about these scenes...some call it torture porn, others call it immoral and wrong, some call it misogynistic and some call it art. I don't want to give the details of these scenes...but they depict genital mutilation in a way that combines extreme close ups, stomach churning violence, and graphic sexuality One thing is for sure...for those who witness it...these scenes will have a permanent place in the dark corners of your mind.
Ironically enough, it is the reputation of these scenes that give Antichrist its wings. Once the couple ventures out to "Eden," there is a sense of impending doom that hovers over the film like a dark cloud. It is that fear of the inevitable that is experienced by both the actors on screen and the participants in the audience. It is also that feeling that pins you to your seat and chills you to the bone...something that I have not experienced in a film in quite some time.
When the film reaches its horrific and grisly conclusion and potent epilogue, you feel as though you have experienced something that you know you shouldn't have...but are all the better for it.
Don't get me wrong Antichrist is not for everyone (hell it isn't for 99% of the population) but for those of you who aren't too squeamish I recommend that you take on the challenge of Antichrist to test not only your tolerance for disturbing content...but the ability of your mind to experience something truly terrifying.
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Comment by Janet Collins
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I am glad you gave us the warning.