Never before have I been so intrigued by a movie that I know I have a hard time bringing myself to see. Not once in my life have I enjoyed being scared. Halloween is my second least favorite holiday (New Year’s Eve ranks as no. 1) and my childhood was no fun and games in the month of October. But now I might just have to get over that fear.
After having just seen the Boondock Saints for the first time (which I’m still not sure if I like…) and coming to realize what a tremendous person Willem Dafoe is, I started to follow him much more closely. In addition to voicing a character in The Fantastic Mr. Fox (a MUST!) and appearing on Broadway plays as the “Idiot Savant,” he is “HE” in Antichrist.
Antichrist is a film by Lars von Trier, a prominent and pretentious French filmmaker. I call him this because of the simple subject matter of his latest splash. Antichrist is a story about a couple, Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg, whose child falls out of a window to his death at their sexual climax. von Trier explores the idea that while we know passion as a natural, enjoyable aspect of human emotion it can also be a moment of destruction and pain. The characters, “HE” and “SHE”, engage in violent sexual acts on one another and themselves, have psychological breakdowns and panics, and explore the endless opportunities of all things scary seclusion in the woods.
I cannot stop reading about this film because I am fascinated by it. After reading about the disgusting and disturbing images that go on in the picture, I am unsure of whether or not I can see it. Watch the trailer. And here are three very different reviews that explore the film and what it has to say to our society.
I’ve been meaning to post this for almost two full weeks and I am looking forward to more people being exposed to this film because it is so outrageous (and not really mainstream.) And then, maybe I am ready to see a matinee. In daylight. With a friend. And spend the rest of my time avoiding wooded areas.