Poll

Which work by Lars Von Trier is your favorite?

haven't seen any
0 (0%)
don't like any
3 (13%)
other
0 (0%)
The Element of Crime
0 (0%)
Epidemic
0 (0%)
Medea
0 (0%)
Europa
0 (0%)
Breaking the Waves
3 (13%)
The Kingdom (TV Mini-Series)
1 (4.3%)
The Idiots
1 (4.3%)
Dancer in the Dark
3 (13%)
Dogville
4 (17.4%)
The Five Obstructions
1 (4.3%)
Manderlay
0 (0%)
The Boss of it All
0 (0%)
Antichrist
3 (13%)
Melancholia
4 (17.4%)
Nymphomaniac: Vol. I
0 (0%)
Nymphomaniac: Vol. II
0 (0%)
The House That Jack Built
0 (0%)

Total Members Voted: 23

Author Topic: Von Trier, Lars  (Read 12154 times)

DarkeningHumour

  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 10453
  • When not sure if sarcasm look at username.
    • Pretentiously Yours
Re: Von Trier, Lars
« Reply #80 on: January 04, 2017, 03:25:04 PM »
Considering my above ranking, should I try another one? If so, which one?
« Society is dumb. Art is everything. » - Junior

https://pretensiouslyyours.wordpress.com/

1SO

  • Moderator
  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 36128
  • Marathon Man
Re: Von Trier, Lars
« Reply #81 on: January 04, 2017, 05:23:32 PM »
Breaking The Waves is probably the best example of his style and the benefits it may provide. However, if you're just not into him as a filmmaker then you won't enjoy Breaking either.

I know the film is long, which is usually a problem for you. Perhaps plan a break. The film is divided into Chapters, so you can pause during one of those.

If it still seems too daunting, The Five Obstructions is a mild movie with just a small flavor of his emotional sadism.

Sam the Cinema Snob

  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 26795
Re: Von Trier, Lars
« Reply #82 on: January 04, 2017, 07:19:55 PM »
I love Breaking the Waves, I hate Antichrist, Dogma and Melancholia.

Knocked Out Loaded

  • Elite Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1914
  • I might remember it all differently tomorrow.
Re: Von Trier, Lars
« Reply #83 on: January 18, 2017, 04:20:26 PM »
Dogville, 90°
Antichrist, 80°
Dancer In The Dark, 65°

Breaking The Waves, 50°

Melancholia, 40°
The Boss Of It All, 40°
The Five Obstructions, 40°
Occupations (Chacun son cinéma segment), 30°
Manderlay, 30°

Nymphomaniac I, 20°
Nymphomaniac II, 20°
« Last Edit: August 03, 2020, 12:04:20 AM by Knocked Out Loaded »
Extraordinary (81-100˚) | Very good (61-80˚) | Good (41-60˚) | Fair (21-40˚) | Poor (0-20˚)

oldkid

  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 19044
  • Hi there! Feed me worlds!
Re: Von Trier, Lars
« Reply #84 on: January 18, 2017, 10:29:12 PM »
I'm not sure.  Dogville is stylistic, like Melancholia.  Breaking the Waves is just great, but probably closer to Dancer in the Dark.

But if you want to try a very different experience, roll the dice and try Antichrist.  Crazy, disturbing, over-the-top... who knows, you  might like it.
"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky

1SO

  • Moderator
  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 36128
  • Marathon Man
Re: Von Trier, Lars
« Reply #85 on: August 02, 2020, 10:46:24 PM »

The House That Jack Built (2018)
"I don't have a handle on how many processes take part in the
decay of a dead human, but I know a bit about dessert wines."


What compels a filmmaker to spend all the time and resources to create a movie that wants to get inside the head of a serial killer and then present it to you for... insight, definitely not entertainment. After watching Jack I think the answer is that filmmakers and serial killers share certain qualities. Leave it to LVT to spell those qualities out on a series of cards Jack (Matt Dillon) flips like Bob Dillon in "Subterranean Homesick Blues": Egotism, Vulgarity, Rudeness, Impulsiveness, Narcissism, Intelligence, Irrationality, Manipulation, Mood Swings, Verbal Superiority.

This sub-genre all makes sense now. Angst, I Stand Alone, Man Bites Dog, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, American Psycho. All films written or co-written by their director, letting their own superior sense of humanity run free in these characters who exercise ultimate control over the people they encounter. It now seems inevitable that Lars Von Trier would make such a film.

In a way he's already made this one. The structure is Nymphomaniac with murder in place of sex and half the length. A series of episodes connected by a conversation between the lead and another character. Some of these conversations aren't deeply written, but Matt Damon, giving his best performance, balances all the emotions listed above.

Jack is obsessive compulsive careful but also increasingly risky and sloppy in his actions as he comes to realize nobody will believe what he's doing. He often says one thing while doing something else and will change his mind multiple times while committing murder. Unlike "movie" serial killers, he's making it up as he goes, often says something to make people suspicious, but can quickly change his plan to keep moving towards his goal.

The conversation between him and Verge (Bruno Ganz, mostly off screen) keeps it from being episodic. It grasps for a larger theme, and while it ultimately doesn't reach anything profound, Dillon's performance - easily the best of this type since Christian Bale in American Psycho - makes the journey worthwhile, if you're up for it.
RATING: ★ ★ ★ - Good

jdc

  • Godfather
  • *****
  • Posts: 7799
  • Accept the mystery
Re: Von Trier, Lars
« Reply #86 on: August 11, 2020, 03:12:23 AM »
The Great

1. Antichrist
2. Melancholia
3. The Idiots

The "I likes"
4. Dogville
5. The House that Jack Built
6. Dancer in the Dark
7. Breaking the Waves

I think I got through about 30 mins of Nymphomaniac Vol 1 but stopped as it just wasn't happening for me at that time. I meant to try again but the interest was just gone. I should search out the rest of his films given I generally like everything else I have seen

"Beer. Now there's a temporary solution."  Homer S.
“The direct use of physical force is so poor a solution to the problem of limited resources that it is commonly employed only by small children and great nations” - David Friedman

Eric/E.T.

  • Elite Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 3830
Re: Von Trier, Lars
« Reply #87 on: August 11, 2020, 04:30:27 PM »
Antichrist at the top, what does it for you jdc? Just wondering. It’s a film I liked until a particular moment of mutilation was burned into my mind. I can’t shake it and it kills it for me. But I’m wondering if you might bring back for me the good memories. Melancholia is a bit easier for me to admire, maybe enjoy. That’s another question, since you seem to like von Trier: Do you appreciate the films or genuinely enjoy them? It’s a false dichotomy, so it’s probably a mix, but which side do you favor most heavily in the appreciate-enjoy theoretical spectrum.
A witty saying proves nothing. - Voltaire

jdc

  • Godfather
  • *****
  • Posts: 7799
  • Accept the mystery
Re: Von Trier, Lars
« Reply #88 on: August 11, 2020, 07:29:20 PM »
Antichrist at the top, what does it for you jdc? Just wondering. It’s a film I liked until a particular moment of mutilation was burned into my mind. I can’t shake it and it kills it for me. But I’m wondering if you might bring back for me the good memories. Melancholia is a bit easier for me to admire, maybe enjoy. That’s another question, since you seem to like von Trier: Do you appreciate the films or genuinely enjoy them? It’s a false dichotomy, so it’s probably a mix, but which side do you favor most heavily in the appreciate-enjoy theoretical spectrum.

I would say I genuinely enjoy any film that can leave me feeling vastly different after the experience then before, be it joy or despair.  In that way, this film is like a punch in the gut and the last 1/3 of the film is intense as well as Charlotte Gainsbourg performance.

but I get your feeling on that particular moment, I could have done without it as well and close my eyes.
"Beer. Now there's a temporary solution."  Homer S.
“The direct use of physical force is so poor a solution to the problem of limited resources that it is commonly employed only by small children and great nations” - David Friedman

Eric/E.T.

  • Elite Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 3830
Re: Von Trier, Lars
« Reply #89 on: August 11, 2020, 10:35:48 PM »
Charlotte Gainsbourg does rock the heck out of that movie. I get you on the feeling vastly different, too, I like films to shake me up, maybe even rough me up time to time. Von Trier for sure does that.
A witty saying proves nothing. - Voltaire

 

love