Persona non Grata: Discussing Lars von Trier

As many already film followers know, the Danish director, Lars von Trier, was recently banned from the Cannes Film Festival for his factitious Antisemitic remarks during the press conference for his new film, Melancholia. Being an avid Trier follower for over a decade now, I couldn't help but want to comment on this whole situation. Since the focus of this blog is to focus on pertinent events in entertainment, it seems improbable to me to not say anything on this issue nor can I completely disassociate my own views from this sensitive matter. Not only is his Persona non Grata status an example of the limits of self-deprecation and good taste, it also showcases how political differences can ruin artistic intentions, no matter how well-intended. 


Another reason for me wanting to use this platform to discuss Mr. Trier in general also comes from the rather distasteful reaction that many members of the press have greeted him with.  I might be in the minority when I say that they probably come off as more arrogant and disrespectful than anything Mr. Trier said, but I feel it must be said. The biggest muckraker on my list comes from none other than Entertainment Weekly's Owen Gliberman. His article, "Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lars von Trier: When, and why, does a celebrity's bad behavior cross the line into unacceptability?" may be read here: http://insidemovies.ew.com/2011/05/21/bad-boys-schwarzenegger-and-von-trier/ I do not intend to quote Mr. Gliberman's article ad nosium since that would be a waste of everyone's time, so I'll just get to the point, his interpretation of what happened comes off like an affirmation of his opinion of his films more than an objective discussion/dissection of free speech in Europe. His absolutist claim is just absurd! Being an absolutist on any matter means you are not even open to considering the logic in opposing viewpoints. It flies in the face of free speech or whatever he thinks he is protecting. There is no way I would even attempt to lump Mr. Trier with Mr(s). Schwarzenegger, Gibson, or Sheen. Those are burned out stars whose actions I wouldn't condone with a ten foot pole. I was even stunned to see, of all people, Lars von Trier being labeled as a "celebrity" in the article. I'm guessing this act, above all things, is what is going to finally get Mr. Trier the wider audience in North America he has deserved (and never gotten) since the 80s. His work, despite their cult status and (mostly recent) star power, has always existed in the fringes. I want to suggest that it really doesn't deserve to be there on its own merit.


When I first discovered Mr. Trier's work back in the mid-90s with the VHS release of Breaking the Waves, it occurred to me very quickly that his style seemed more self-conscious and gratifyingly humorous than most of his European peers. Even as I got into the Dogma 95 films like The King Is Alive, The Celebration, and even the one by the obvious target of his more malicious remarks, Susanne Bier: the wonderful Open Hearts (Original Danish Version With English Subtitles), I knew I had encountered a successful filmmaker unlike any other in Europe. It wasn't until later on after his more "accessible" (if such a word could ever really be applied to his work) Dancer in the Dark and Dogville came out did I learn of his previous Cannes Film Festival travesties like throwing his third place prize for Europa into the Mediterranean and calling Roman Polanski a "midget" during his speech for it. Nowadays, a famous personality like that would either be written off as a victim of As-burger's or lionized as the star of their own reality show. However, back then, it probably just gave him more mystique and respect than he really deserved. It certainly seemed to help his filmmaking, though. Martin Scorsese doesn't seem to stop praising and collaborating with him. Stephen King doesn't work with just anyone. Respect aside, what exactly were the Cannes Festival bigwigs expecting to happen after a while? I still remember watching the press conference for Antichrist:: The Criterion Collection [Blu-ray] where he made pompous and arrogantly unfunny remarks (in any language) that would have shut down any American director's career in a paparazzi's flash. I intuitively knew that he was also only getting started. As much as I anticipated the reviews for Melancholia, I also feared what price he and everyone in the cast would have to pay for whatever rude remarks he was going to dish out this time around. 

Now that the dust is beginning to settle (albeit slightly) right before the awards are given out (Aki Kaurismaki’s ”Le Havre,” Pierre Schoeller’s ”The Minister” and Jeff Nichols’ ”Take Shelter” and Paolo Sorrentino’s Sean Penn starrer ”This Must Be the Place" are already winners. I personally can't wait to see if Melancholia actually wins anything....check for my update!), I am pondering what exactly Mr. Trier meant when he said those already legendary words? Was it humor lost in translation? Or was it something more sincere? One of my favorite comments of Mr. Gliberman's article was this fellow who stated, "I’m not a fan of Lars von Triers work,and what he said in Cannes was stupid and I don’t blame them for banning him. But to be fair, as a Dane myself, I get how he got himself into so much trouble, because the nuances in the English language are different from the ones in the danish. I’ve seen the press conference on tv and I think what he was trying to say was that he doesn’t like Susanne Bier and that he sees Hitler as a weak, miserable person, and that he felt sorry for the man, without condoning his actions. This whole thing about Hitler came from Trier watching Bruno Ganz in “Downfall [UK Region Code B Blu Ray]”, and without this context and English being his second language, it ended up sounding really bad. (references a fellow comment-er)

NedPepper: it’s a well known fact that he’s afraid of flying and he drives to Cannes every year. The only reason he doesn’t want to visit America is because he “wouldn’t survive several hours in a plane”. This comment paints Mr. Trier more as an emotional cripple who probably rarely has any control over what he says in public situations. Knowing Mr. Trier's background, I have to agree with what this (maybe great) Dane is saying. After all, this is a director who just added the "von" to his name to sound important. He's always been a facade who is all about breaking down the facade. To call his work "ugly" is a disservice and to call it "Brechtian" is missing the point entirely. I've just seen his work more and more over the years as a self-servicing condemnation of all that conventional European and American society holds high and unobtainable. He sees the foibles in the situation but rarely a cohesive solution to this (and his own) sense of entitlement. The more I think about it, his comments seem egged on and just a silly reaction to the pressure of debuting a film in competition at Cannes. Does anyone notice how Woody Allen never puts his work, including Midnight in Paris, in competition? I'm starting to think he has the right idea. Misplaced defense mechanisms come in all shapes and sizes, especially from those who are set up to never win in the conventional way.

The Cannes Film Festival seems to exist as an international beacon for those who are overtly cultured but completely out of touch within their own culture. It is almost as if they practically dare the directors to sound racist and belligerent by default. I'd have to say that Lars' sarcastic comments are starting to sound less culturally emblematic and more and more like an aging rock star trying to sound edgy and relevant without the benefit of becoming a judge on American Idol (yeah, you know whom I'm talking about). I think the most important element of this discussion is the fact that when you are talking about an auteur, I don't really think anyone really cares about what you think.....since it's all about Them. To me, it doesn't matter if anyone is offended or even gets the point of his discourse. In the end, it is all about THE WORK. Seems impossible these days, doesn't it? To me, it doesn't matter what culture you hail from, or what higher power you look up to, all I care about is what ends up on the screen. Call me immature or even a bad Blogger (heaven forbid!) but I just feel everyone has their right to express themselves in humorous ways without diminishing or putting a stigma on their work....even if it makes them sound like a total A-hole in the process. Lame obscene finger tattoos aside, Mr. Trier really is bringing up some good issues, ironic as they may be. German ancestry is a bitch to comprehend anymore. Almost as bad as finding out that your ancestors imported slaves from Africa or helped destroy the Holy Roman Empire (or both). No one is unmarked from these historical events, even if you had nothing to do with it. Maybe joking about it is the wave of the future. Or maybe, as Melancholia so aggressively argues on this eve of faux-Rapturous Judgment, that the world is coming to a screeching halt and we don't have a prayer. I think I might be in both (sinking) boats.

I AM LARS VON TRIER'S SENSE OF ENLIGHTENMENT