Review #151: 'Antichrist' (2009)

It's quite difficult to know what exactly to say about this film. Danish film maker Lars Von Trier has nearly always been the provocateur. From the penetration of The Idiots (1998), to the comments at this years Cannes Film Festival, where he claimed to essentially be a Nazi, Von Trier knows how to spark controversy, and generally gage reactions from both critics and audiences alike. This brings us to his 2009 offering, Antichrist, Starring Wilem Defoe and Charlotte Gainbourg. Never referred to by name within the narrative, they are only named in the credits as simply He and She.

In the opening prologue, He and She are interlocked in passionate copulation, unaware that their toddler, Nic, has woken and climbed out from his cot. Nic makes his way to the window where he falls to his death. From here-on, the film is broken into chapters of emotions: Chapter one is grief; Chapter two, pain; Chapter three, despair; and four, the three beggars (this refers to the previous chapters titles' incarnations as animals - a deer (grief), a fox (pain), and a crow (despair). He, a psychotherapist, takes on the task of counselling She after her breakdown, and brings her through the chapters emotional arc. They retreat to a cabin in the woods, that they refer to as Eden.

It is here that they begin to fall apart, She becomes more sexually aggressive, which culminates in some of the more controversial imagery (such as She cutting her clitoris off with scissors - and image that is shot in extreme close-up). A dying fox lifts it's head to a perplexed He, and states "chaos reigns". The breakdown of the relationship is countered by ideas and images of nature - both human and of the woodland outside the cabin. Decay and death in nature is represented with the three animals. In one scene She states that "nature is Satan's church". We are not really sure what is real, and what may be dreamed or imagined in this text. He and She (apart from Nic) are the only characters to occupy the narrative. In two scenes where others do inhabit the mise-en-scene, their faces are totally blurred out of the image.

Whilst much of the column space that was dedicated to the film in the media focused on the imagery (it was also given the oblique title of torture-porn), almost as much vehemence directed at Von Trier accused him of being a misogynist. I can see why this may have been the case. However, I believe that both characters had intrinsic hatred for each other.

At the end, we discover that the film is dedicated to Russian film maker/genius, Andrei Tarkovsky. I did not know this to begin with, and some of the more beautiful, idyllic cinematography did remind me of some of his work. The log cabin reminded me of the house and surroundings of the mother character in Tarkovsky's The Mirror (1975). Antichrist really does have some incredibly beautiful shots. The opening, whilst permeated with horror, is so visually stunning. There are these moments of slow-motion that conjure pure artistry. The film is no masterpiece, not by a long shot. It does stir the emotions though, and this is really down to the performances. Gainbourg certainly deserved the best actress award at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival: her portrait of grief and (possible) slid into insanity, is remarkable.


Directed by: Lars Von Trier
Starring: Willem Dafoe, Charlotte Gainsbourg
Country: Denmark/Germany/France/Sweden/Italy/Poland

Rating: ****

Marc Ivamy