Antichrist – The Film Reel Reviews

A couple, dealing with the grief of losing their son, retreat to a secluded cabin to try to repair both their marriage and their minds.

Written and Directed by – Lars von Trier

Starring – Willem Dafoe, Charlotte Gainsbourg

Here’s a movie that people are either going to love, hate or be totally confused by. I’m still not sure which camp I belong to and it’s been two days since I watched this one. At the same time I loved it, I also found it completely disgusting and almost impossible to watch. It’s like an art film wrapped in the most brutal horror you can think of and tied with a bow of pornography, that’s the best way I can think of to describe it.

First of all, the plot. It’s chock full of symbolism, hidden meanings and religious overtones. Or maybe it’s not??? I can’t figure out what Lars von Trier was trying to get at with this and he doesn’t seem willing to talk about it. After hunting endlessly for some sort of final meaning for the film, all I was left with was numerous different takes on the entire film from plenty of different people. I thought that if I could find what the director was trying to say that I would view the film differently and in the end was only more confused by the many varied, and well thought out, ideas that others had. At it’s most basic it’s the story of two people in different types of grief trying to get better together but ultimately becoming worse….much worse. With so much hidden meaning and symbolism going on though, I’ve read peoples opinions ranging from a straight out shot at women to it having to deal with abortion to it being all about the nature of man. You really have to come to your own conclusion obviously.

This one will knock on your noodle for a long time if you let it. The problem with that is it’s so damn hard to watch. I’d love to sit and see it again, to maybe bring a better understanding, but I’m just not sure I want to do that all over again. And it’s not just the sight of a full frontal, naked Willem Dafoe that scares me. (HERE COME THE SPOILERS) The violence is brutal in this one, and not just on the humans. There’s a baby bird that falls to the ground, covered in ants, which is then snatched up by a crow and eaten. A fox is seen eating it’s stomach (or its own baby, I’ve heard different opinions and couldn’t come to a conclusion myself) and there’s a deer running around with a stillborn fawn half hanging out it’s backside. Not the most pleasurable things to view. Willem Dafoe gets his crotch crushed by his wife in the film with a big log after which she masturbates him until he ejaculates blood. And yeah, we get to see the whole thing. Like I said, it can be very uncomfortable to watch.

It is shocking in its violent images. From the masturbation scene, to the wife cutting her own clitoris off with scissors, the bloody images of animals and sex scenes that are ‘rough’ and that may be putting it mildly. None of this happens off camera either. It’s all right there on the screen for us to see, if we like it or not. Lars von Trier seems to want to break all the boundaries. Right in the first few minutes of the film we get an explicit sex scene and the death of a small child as he falls out a window. Killing a child in a movie doesn’t usually happen but here we get to see his body slam to the ground in the snow in slow motion. Thankfully not up close but enough to make my gut churn. It’s hard to get through all that and we’re only five minutes into the movie.

Willem Dafoe in one of the gorgeous scenes.

Almost counter-balancing the brutal violence and graphic (and also sometimes violent) sex scenes is the fact that the movie is gorgeous to look at. Beautiful shots with snow and forest backdrops, the above shot of Willem Dafoe standing in falling acorns and some amazing scenery make the film a pleasure to see. It really makes me wonder what’s going on in Lars von Trier’s head. Like someone taking the most beautiful picture you’ve ever seen and splashing crap all over it. If not for the violence and explicit nudity, this would have been one of the most beautifully shot movies I think I’ve ever seen.

Charlotte Gainsbourg plays quite the role as a mother losing her sanity.

So there’s the problem with this movie. Can I recommend it to people? I’m not sure. I loved that it seems so deep and will rattle your brain. I hated the really brutal violence. I know, shocking coming from a guy like me but this type of violence is not comical or unbelievable. It’s all too realistic to be acceptable. We’re not talking zombies from the grave, we’re talking violence that could very likely happen to someone and it’s difficult to sit through. If there was a point to the film, like a very clear and strong message the director was trying to get through to people, I might recommend it. But with not being able to figure out what the purpose of this movie is, I wouldn’t want to tell someone to watch it and have them feel dirty for having seen it.

You’ve been seriously warned about this one. It’s strong from both sides of the fence. Very well made and beautifully shot film with a deep story but also a brutal horror flick with explicit sex and violence. It may just end up being one of those movies that everyone ‘just has to see’. Only time will tell. I found it hard to watch and if the first 5 minutes makes you too uncomfortable, it only gets worse from there.

Under the marquee – Will