Elia Kazan was an informer and a traitor, Leni von
Riefenstahl a Nazi convinced of the superiority of the Aryan race, Cecil B. De
Mille a fascist, not to mention Roman Polanski and his well-known scandals,
including the sex abuse of a minor. But they are all extraordinary directors,
who have written some of the most brilliant pages in the history of cinema. So,
why does everyone attacks Lars von Trier for being a perfect fool, and a
genius?
There is no doubt that Lars von Trier leaves no one
indifferent (as any of the big masters of the industry) and certainly he does
love controversy. And it seems that criticism, far away from intimidating him,
motivates him to go even further. An example? His response to criticisms,
emerged in America, over Von Trier’s grueling film “Dogville”, was to film the
sequel “Manderlay”.
Lars von Trier was a young man with a heightened
cinematographic sensitivity; he even went through a period of suicidal
tendencies (quiet artistic, isn’t it?). His search for visual originality is
undeniable and he is a guy that wants to do something unique, singular and
impressive out of each one of his project. "My problem is that every film I
make I want to turn it into a formal experience," he says, yes, but
besides being a formal experience, Von Trier has the gift of being an
irreverent rebel to the extremes: even when, with his naïve way of thinking, he
proposed to convert porn movies into something sublime (after a couple of
attempts he realized that with this material it was impossible to make art,
even for him).
One of his bold stunts is the foundation of the Dogma
95 movement, a model for shooting movies based on 10 main commandments in which
the main purpose is to preserve the creative authenticity of reality in the
films.
Faithfull to his motto that films "should feel
like when you feel a stone in the shoe," he started to make real films,
often stories with great moral and even religious implications, which beat and
trample the heart of the viewer to the unbearable. In order to watch a film by
Lars Von Trier you need to have a strong stomach and to be very open minded.
Because he will be ruthless, that’s for sure: the only way to appreciate him is
to understand that he is going to play with you. In this way, you will see that
his works are masterpieces.
He completed his film studies at the Danish Film
School, graduating in 1983 with an experimental project about pictures’
freedom, which then received an award at the Munich Film Festival the following
year. In 1984, he shot a police theme film "The Element of Crime",
which was the beginning of the "European trilogy" completed later by
"Epidemic" (1987) and "Europe" (1990), certainly the best
of the trilogy, also according to the Cannes film festival that prized it with
multiple awards.
Between 1994 and 1997 he shot for the Danish TV
"The Kingdom", a strange but fascinating series about the existence
of evil, good and the spiritual world, and that with has come to become a cult.
His international recognition would not come until his next triad, the one
known as "Heart of Gold": three hard and extreme stories, where
self-sacrifice is the element that moves the protagonists. That was the time
when the world started calling him the best Danish genius since Carl T. Dreyer.
Then it was the time of "Breaking the Waves" (1996), "The
Idiots" (1998) and especially "Dancer in the Dark" (1999), in
which the audience was submitted to an agony almost as unbearable and
unforgettable as the one felt by the character Selma, played by the singer
Björk.
His "American Trilogy" began with
"Dogville" (2001), where Von Trier again shows its relentless pursuit
of perfection and formal originality. In the hands of another director, a
theatrical staging would have been ridiculous; in his hands, it turns out to be
spine-chilling. The sequel, "Manderlay" (2005), could count on the
prominence of one of the most promising new actresses of that time, the young
Bryce Dallas Howard.
Almost no filmmaker in the world is capable of
shooting pictures as beautiful as this man does, entering with the precision of
a surgeon in the world, interior and exterior, of tormented and convoluted
characters, such as Emily Watson in "Breaking the waves ", for naming
one of many.
In 2009 at the Cannes Festival he presented
"Antichrist" a very controversial film starring Willem Dafoe; this
film received harsh criticism for its explicit sex and self-mutilation scenes.
Crossed feelings. It is the expression that could best
define the relationship between the figure of Lars von Trier and a huge part of
movie fans. I call him “figure” because the showing of his controversial
statements, more beyond the length and importance of some of his cult films,
has contributed to elevate his status as an icon, mediatic and messianic, of
contemporary cinema. Loved and hated in equal measure, he professes an unusual
insight that dances to the rhythm of your emotions.
Genius?, crazy?, a misogynist?, maybe all of them? Or
simply someone using elements that no one else dares to use in order to achieve
greatness? At least for me, he is just simply a genius willing to say and do
what others dare not.
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