Lars von Trier

But there is no doubt that Lars von Trier leaves no one indifferent (like the great masters) and that he certainly loves controversy. And it seems that criticism, far from daunting him, spurs him on. Von Tier’s last response to the criticism that arose in America on the occasion of his harsh Dogville , has been none other than filming the sequel Manderlay . And according to his words, it will give a lot to talk about: “I don’t think I will make many new friends with her there, but, instead, it will create a brotherhood between the Klu Klux Klan and the blacks, because they will both really want to kill me”. Of course, no one can deny that the guy has flats.

Lars Trier (the “von” was his addition) was born in Copenhagen on April 30, 1956. Many years later, when his mother was on her deathbed, she revealed that his father was not his “real” dad. His mother had decided that her son should be an artist and she chose a painter to get pregnant. In short, no one understands these Nordics. The fact is that Lars was always a young man with an exacerbated cinematographic sensitivity, and he even went through a time of suicidal tendencies (very artistic, right?). His search for visual originality is undeniable and he is a guy who wants to do something unique, singular and impressive with each project. “My problem is that with each new film I want to have a formal experience,” he says; yes, but in addition to a formal experience, Von Trier has the gift of being rebellious to irreverent extremes: even in his naiveté he set out to turn porn movies into something sublime, but after a couple of attempts he himself realized that with this material it was impossible to make art, even for him. Among his audacity are the founding of the Dogma 95 Movement, a model based on 10 film commandments that seek to preserve creative authenticity, and a strange fiction project called “D-Day”, consisting of filming only a few minutes of film each year and releasing it in 2024.

Faithful to his maxim that cinema “should feel like a stone in the shoe feels”, he began to make real cinema, often stories, with great moral and even religious implications, that hit and trample the heart of the viewer to the point of the unbearable. To see a Lars Von Trier film, you need to have a stomach, to distance yourself from what we are going to see. Because he’s going to be relentless, for sure. Only knowing that he is going to play with you can appreciate that his latest films are the works of a master.

He studied film at the Danish Film School, graduating in 1983 with the experimental project Images of a Liberation , which was awarded at the Munich Festival the following year. The following year he filmed the police film The Element of Crime , which was the beginning of the so-called “European trilogy”, later completed by Epidemia (1987) and Europe (1990), undoubtedly the best of the three and multi-awarded at Cannes. Between 1994 and 1997 he shot for Danish television The Kingdom, a strange but fascinating series about the existence of evil, good and the spiritual world, and which over time has become a cult series. But his great international recognition would not come until his next shortlist, that of the “Heart of Gold”, three hard and extreme stories, where the sacrifice itself moves the protagonists. It was said then that we were facing the best Danish genius since Carl T. Dreyer. And it may be so. There they are Breaking the waves (1996), The idiots (1998) and above all Dancing in the dark (1999), where the viewer was subjected to an anguish almost as unbearable as that of the unforgettable Selma played by the singer Björk. His “America trilogy” began with Dogville(2001), where Von Trier once again demonstrated his indefatigable search for perfection and formal originality. In the hands of another director, his theatrical staging would have been ridiculous; in his hands, it was chilling. We look forward to the second installment, Manderlay , already filmed, with the leading role of one of the most promising actresses of the moment, the young Bryce Dallas Howard .