TOP 10 SHOTS from "Antichrist"

Sometimes all it takes for me to link a film for this column is an actor in an a film being obscurely released this weekend, who also happens to be in another obscure film that I'm certain you at least have heard of. Lars von Trier has been thrown under the bus on many occasions, in my opinion rather unfairly. The man's frequent embarrassment towards the public has not downsized my opinions of his work, and in fact enhances how sure I am of his vision. The man stated once that he was "the best director in the world". I can't say I can entirely disagree to his statement, especially considering the confidence he displays in pretty much all his films. You can't say the man doesn't know what he's doing, or that his finished products are fractured entities.

Indeed "Antichrist" is quite likely the easiest film of his to toss aside vehemently as angry and self-indulgent trash, but not a single part of me believes that for a second. I've seen the film now from both the perspective of total fear and seriousness towards his personal connection to the film, and from a point of pure horror genre panache. The guy has undeniable style, which ekes through even in the simplest of shots, and the film is one aggressive, disgustingly gorgeous visual after another, none without its own visceral weight to it. I must factor this as some kind of masterpiece, and in any case it makes for an ideal choice for this column. And I have to mention Anthony Dod Mantle, the cinematographer on the film who must inevitably seem overshadowed by von Trier. His presence is just as noticed, if not quite as acknowledge.

"Melancholia" Redux: They don't understand our love

SPOILER ALERT! I'M ABOUT TO GET DEEP INTO WHAT THIS FILM IS AND WHAT I THINK IT MEANS!

Last night finally gave me the opportunity to come back around to "Melancholia" after reviewing it two months back. Yes, I was amongst those who saw it via laptop, so it was a diluted experience to say the least, but still one I embraced. However, it's nothing compared to viewing the film in its theatrical glory. A friend of mine who saw the film said he expected it to be a blend of "The Tree of Life", "Armageddon", and Lars von Trier's own "Antichrist", which is a pretty accurate depiction of it to another person. But in discussing it with the group I saw it with after the fact, I think they kind of missed the point of it.

Not any fault of them, as none of them are film majors and none of them really know what to think of films such as this. Even my fellow film majors had trouble grasping it, and when I told them it was a love story, they all just managed to laugh and joke about it. True, there's some fun to be found in poking fun at that fact, but I was 100% dead serious. The mistake I made a few months back was diagnosing it as a love triangle between two girls and a planet. Claire, in many ways, plays the honest minded foil of the main romance of "Melancholia".

For Your Anticipation: I Don't Believe in Marriage

"Melancholia" really is quite something, which unfortunately has been belittled by the iTunes treatment it's gotten. True, I don't expect this to be an Oscar contender in any capacity, but the film is not one you want to see on the small screen. Like any other brilliant drama, it is meant for the theatrical setting. I don't know a great film that is better left to home viewing. Sure, you could wait for DVD for most of these limited release films, but they just don't deserve it. "Melancholia" can be a bit long winded at times, but every ounce of its majesty is meant to be appreciated in full.

Film Review: "Melancholia" (***1/2)

How can you possibly not feel bad for poor Lars? The man's been beaten down like a hideous dog for his brutal and uncompromising honesty, now to the point where he's had enough. It's such a tragedy in and of itself that his least controversial and most recently acclaimed film, "Melancholia", come when media disillusionment has kicked him out of Cannes, and now off the visible stage. Lars von Trier has taken himself out of the publicity game, doing no more interviews from here on out, and it's a damn shame. Yet despite the unfortunate recent events, the film does take on something of a stronger form. In it, Lars takes out his vengeance on the entire planet.

The film is broken up into three segments, starting off with a near-hallucinatory prologue introducing the main characters of Justine and Claire as Lars the Destroyer conjures up a series of bleak and extravagant imagery, with Wagner bellowing triumphantly in the background. The film could end after that 8 minute opening and still receive glorious accolades, but it serves as a reminder of where we're headed, and how inevitable it is. Cue Lars' trademark scribbled title card, and we're off to the races, at which point Lars puts a hold on his wilder visual stylings, as he's got a delicate story to tell.

2 Years of 'High on Celluloid'!

It's kind of hard to think that I've only been working on this site for two years, but at a point it seems like time becomes a less solid thing. I map things out by experience, and I am still very dissatisfied with my work in my entire first year. It was mostly based on these minimalist and isolationist ramblings of somebody who hadn't lived, and therefore didn't have an opinion. I think that the film that really begged me to be more individual and self-assured in my dissent from the popular opinion was "Black Swan", which was oddly absorbed by the popular opinion. Society's sensual obsession with it seemed to minimalize the accomplishment.

If you brought it up to any average person who liked it, they'll say that Natalie Portman's performance is the film. Those who disliked it will narrow it down to being an average thriller. Both miss the point of the film entirely, and I kept reaching these emotional roadblocks in others' responses, and I simply balked at it. It suddenly became so apparent how flawed the public opinion is, which was further compounded by "The King's Speech" winning Best Picture at this year's Oscar race. I thought of the film's true merits, which were few, and it got me to scrutinize the other players in the race, and finding I wasn't as taken with "Toy Story 3", "The Social Network", or "True Grit" as I thought.

I owe some of that sudden change to my film professors, who've done an absolutely brilliant job of broadening my horizon, if feeding my ego a tad too much inadvertently. I owe a great deal more to "Black Swan", as those central themes of railing against your owners in defense of what you believe just ignited inside me. Realize that I gave 17 A-range reviews last year, and only four so far this year, two of which in the past two weeks. I raised my standards to what they should be, rather than settling for less. If I operated this year the way I did in 2010, I think I'd have lost more readers than I'd have gained. The readers I have now are at least more specific.

"How Do I Get Out of This Sentence?"

Lars von Trier has always been known for his controversial shenanigans, most of which I find really entertaining, so seeing as his latest film, Melancholia, hasn't yet roused people very much, I felt a little bit let down. And then this little tidbit from a press interview showed up, and Lars von Trier is now being called a Nazi. What he says isn't really new to my ears, because I know that Hitler did some really terrible things, but he's a man you can potentially understand. Lars was just discussing a bit of embarrassing family history, and Cannes responded rather wildly by banning him, effective immediately. The man has been debuting films at the festival for years, so did they really expect him to not make such a big fuss? Considering the humorous context of the statement, this really seems like overkill. I'm not saying that Lars is to be commended for his statement, but it sounds like more of a bizarre and stupid attempt at a joke than a declaration of hate. Lars von Trier's career will go on from this, which sets him apart from Mel Gibson in particular.

Cannes Coverage 2011: "Melancholia"

It's Lars Von Trier time again, and it's always a pleasure to sit down for a film of his. That is assuming that you can handle the drama, and quite often most people can't. I know the first time I sat down for the entirety of Antichrist was certainly a traumatic experience, mostly because it was such a personal work from such a dynamic director. I knew that when reviews started rolling around for Melancholia there would be some sort of negative reaction. They don't matter when it comes right down to it. The critical reaction isn't a factor in my own satisfaction.

Guy Lodge (In Contention), ***1/2: "If this seems like so much kitsch — particularly with the spine-tingling roar of Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde filling the auditorium as we watch — that may not be accident: the contrast between this sequence and von Trier’s considerably grayer-hued ending suggests how we like to romanticize even our worst-case scenarios. In this remarkable film, at once intimate and operatic in scope, the apocalypse turns out to be rather a private function."

Cannes playing host to Von Trier, Malick, Marshall

The unveiling of this year's Cannes Film Festival line up wasn't exactly filled with shocks and surprises so much as pleasantries and intrigues. Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life is obviously making an appearance, as if we needed any further confirmation on that one. As predicted, but not confirmed, Lars Von Trier's latest film, Melancholia, will also be making an appearance in the competition. Pedro Almadovar's The Skin That I Inhabit is also to have it's premiere, along with several other wild cards. Restless is playing Un Certain Regard, as noted yesterday, amongst several other films we're sure to hear first words about this time next month. The only real surprise of sorts is Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides playing at the festival. I guess there's always one blockbuster in this heap.

OPENING FILM
"Midnight in Paris," Woody Allen

COMPETITION
"Drive," Nicolas Winding Refn
"Footnote," Josef Cedar
"Hanezu no Tsuki," Naomi Kawase
"Hara-kiri: Death of a Samurai," Takashi Miike

Theatrical Trailer: Melancholia

Lars Von Trier has made some severally messed up masterpieces in the past, and each has achieved some sort of classic status amongst the more detailed critical community. However, despite everything we've been able to pick up from his films, he's maintained that each of them had a happy ending. That is until Melancholia, which he says is his first film that doesn't have a happy ending. If you're looking for an experience far more terrifying than the typical horror film, look no further than Von Trier. He looks to be delivering another terrific piece of filmmaking, and I look forward to being kept up for days thinking about this film.