Antichrist

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Myself

A divisive film if ever I saw one. I've never had much of a strong view about Lars von Trier's work. From the few films of his I've seen I've like more parts of them than I haven't. I guess the same goes for this film. There are more elements in the film I like than I don't like, however there's just so much I'm not sure what to make of.

One thing you cannot deny is that the film looks great. The photography is very beautiful and stylised in some sections and then other times reverts to something closer resembling his dogma 95 films. Lots of slow-mo. It's pretty. The crazy sound design is also hugely effective and inventive.

Willem Dafoe and especially Charlotte Gainsbourg have some seriously heavy lifting to do here. They bring their A game and dive right into it, god bless 'em. I don't know if they had any more idea about what they were doing that I do now after having watched the film a few times but there's no denying their commitment. They are absolutely brilliant especially with such tough sells to pull off.

It's said this was a horror film. There's no denying that it is horrific. There are some great and very brutal acts of violence often involving sex as well. It's not for the faint of heart. There are also some vague occult/religious/supernatural/psychotic elements that teeter between disturbing and comical, depending on your mood and level of involvement.

That's my main problem with the film. The plot and the themes and ideas in it are kept very vague. There's nothing concrete to grab hold of here. I guess it's like a David Lynch film, dreamlike and open to interpretation. But Lynch's stuff still feels purposeful for the most part. Antichrist just seems underdeveloped and disconnected. It's something about guilt and the evil of woman and their connection to nature... or something. I don't even know how the title Antichrist fits in with what happens in the film.

A tough nut to crack. And one most people would get impatient with and leave for something more digestible. I ordered the U.K. Bluray because it had a commentary which I watched this time through. The tech talk was interesting but the rest of it basically confirmed my suspicion that it's just a rorschach test. So if you feel like the test is for you, by all means give it a try. There's plenty to enjoy (as much as you can enjoy torture and self mutilation) but don't expect to come away with easy answers.