Photo: photos.com
The talking fox in Antichrist meant what it said, even if it only had one line
In a recent interview, eccentric Danish film maker Lars Von Trier, the man behind the intense and macabre film Antichrist, revealed that a severe depression drove his creative process while writing the script.
The film was shown at a special screening at the Film House (Filmhuset) on Gothersgade on Friday, as part of a conference held by the Faculty of Humanities’ Department of Media, Cognition and Communication.
Hear the interview as a sound file or read the transcript.
Afterwards, Von Trier took part in a discussion with von Trier expert Peter Schepelern and the audience, during which the fim maker explains that he wrote the film in order to give himself a reason to get out of bed in the morning.
As the man himself put it, with barely disguised irony, »Well, when you make a film, you have to be out of bed, otherwise it’s very complicated, practically.«
However, beneath the flippant comment lies the darker reality of the depression that drove Von Trier to create the powerful and, at times, bloody film.
He plummeted into a depression after the producer of the original Antichrist film leaked the ending, that Satan had created mankind, to the press. Von Trier cancelled the film immediately because, it would, according to him, »be like saying: ’The butler did it.’«
Von Trier skirts around a number of the questions posed to him, sometimes seeming to deliberately get off track and toy with the interviewer, at one point insisting, »please allow me not to
answer all questions. Because I remember somebody saying that you shouldn’t ask the chicken about the chicken soup.«
In spite of these avoidance tactics, he does also intimate that the film was a form of personal catharsis, saying, »the film is of course also about the therapy that I have gone through myself.«
However, the interview leaves no doubt that Von Trier still possesses a sense of humour.
When asked about the symbolism of the talking fox in the film he says, »I cut out a lot of the talking, and there’s just one line left for the fox now. Which is a pity, because the fox really meant what it said.«
For those that have not seen the film, the furry, yet apparently earnest, one-liner was, »Chaos reigns.«
Last chance! Send us a photo of your room before tonight at 24:00 and win tickets to the NorthSide Festival
Gallery: International Fascination of Plants Day
Graphic: Where are the jobs in Europe?
Gallery: Life revue '12
Gallery: Physics Revue '12
Gallery: Canada students’ protest
Gallery: USG Dance show
Gallery: Party Watch, CSS Year Party '12
Gallery: War of the Wardrobes, Black Diamond, Copenhagen
Gallery: Spiders at the Zoological Museum
Gallery: Stars with Brains 2012 challenge
Gallery: Royal opening of 'Day of Research' 2012
Gallery: War of the Wardrobes, Luxembourg Gardens, Paris
Gallery: Taking hair sample from Egtved girl
Gallery: Fieldwork in Disko Bay, Greenland
Gallery: Research project is last hope for Danish ash trees
Gallery: Follow Marte's free work-out
Graphic: When do European students leave home?
Graphic: Dissatisfied European students
Gallery: War of the Wardrobes, Karolinska, Stockholm
War of the Wardrobes: Copenhagen art event Words like ‘critical skills’ and ‘reflexivity’ are just trendy buzz. Instead we need to imagine a just world, argues Amir Susic, a humanities student at the University of Copenhagen
Write us an e-mail: uni-avis@adm.ku.dk
Copyright 2009 © Universitetsavisen.ku.dk