Chaos Reigns.
Today I watched Lars Von Trier’s new(sort of) film ANTICHRIST. I had seen the trailer for it a long time ago and thought what anybody viewing the trailer would think, that they are looking at a trailer for an intense European horror film, taking place in the woods. But that assumption would be very very false. I wasn’t that interested in seeing the film at that point, but there seemed to be in increased interest in it through my circle of friends so I decided to give it a chance.
From the start i was intrigued, the story is told in chapters each with ominous titles. The first chapter opens in a black and white scene of our main characters having sex. These scenes are shot with a high-speed camera adding a very dreamy atmosphere. This scene is also one of two that actually features music that isn’t just intense drones. The sex is unsimulated and includes a largely unnecessary penetration shot. I understood they were having sex you don’t have to spoon feed me. So our nameless heroes have chaotic sex in a variety of places, knocking things over and making a mess. All the while their little boy wakes up from his sleep and decides to escape from his room. I don’t know what kind of baby has the desire to escape from his crib, past a gate, to an open window of an apartment that must have been 3 or 4 stories up and step outside the window. Probably one that deserves to slip and fall off the edge. Which is precisely what happens. At our heroes apex of passion, the boy slips and falls into the snowy ground beneath. Thus begins the film. This and the following chapter contain the most dialogue and most bearable scenes. It’s after this point that it becomes very clear that this is a European film. The way the characters are completely unrelatable and act in such a way that you would think they only had one go at rehearsing before they turned the camera on. Which according to Willem Defoe is the case. Which I can almost understand, I couldn’t imagine filming some of the things that take place in this film let alone have several takes of it. Which brought up another silly thought. Charlotte Gainsbourg has a number of intense unsimulated sex scenes and scenes of her just acting fucking insane and being nude. So I wonder how her 2 children feel about that. I would imagine at some point in their lives they would become curious enough to see it, or someone would be mean enough to tease them about it. or they would stumble upon it whilst on the internet.
As the film progresses it becomes very clear that the female protagonist is more fucked up than we imagined, and that’s whether the director intended or not, all i got from this film. Through all it’s biblical and mythological (same category) symbolism, the most prevalent idea to me was that women are terrible people. It’s right there in the logo for the film. The T is in the shape of a female symbol. It paints women as chaotic and irrational and the female protagonist even calls attention to this through her “research”. Saying lines like “Can’t i just be afraid without a definite object?” Willem Defoe (our male protagonist) embodies rationality. Being a therapist he tries his best to keep his wife from exploding in fits of sexual rage, etc and is always calm and understanding (and DTF).
If I sound to critical of this film it’s just how I approach movies, because i will admit there are some nice shots in this movie, I’m not taking anything away from the cinematography or the directors fondness for high-speed cameras. I just feel that other than to enjoy some interesting imagery there is no other reason to enjoy it. It was agonizing to sit through. It effectively made me not like sex (for the day), forests…logs…scissors….weights…etc. People have interpreted this film in many ways, but i don’t think the story was the main focus for the director. It felt like it was less of a story and more of the embodiment of an emotion, images that correspond with this emotion. The emotion? Grief? Wrath? All of the above?
If your interested in seeing some intense imagery (i’m pretty sure animals were harmed during the making of this film) and putting your stomach to the test than i recommend, but if your with a group of friends or family and want to be entertained…look elsewhere. I couldn’t see myself watching this anyone other than alone at 2am like i did. Would i watch again? i can’t answer that yet, i feel like the effect of it hasn’t worn of…it’s made me feel dirty…and fortunate that my genitalia is still intact….i need a shower.
kisses,
Mandragon
