'Antichrist' Review
Just got back from watching Lars von Trier's latest, 'Antichrist', and I thought I'd put my thoughts down while they were still fresh in my head. If there is one word to describe this movie it is 'provocative'. Von Trier pretty much proved this at Cannes by claiming to be the world's greatest filmmaker. He wants to rile you up. He wants you to walk out and ask for your money back. He would love it if you wrote into your local newspaper and complained about 'this sick filth'. He wants all these things because it means he has affected you, be it positively or negatively, he has caused you to react to what is essentially a fancy light show. And that is the essence of film as art. Von Trier uses the tropes that you know from the horror world to created a study of grief, guilt, depression, and madness, and manages to wrap it in a fairly engaging plot regarding the two character's interactions and relationship. There has been a great deal of controvers