In the middle of Warsaw there is a large tower reaching up to the sky, a clock at the top that might recall Big Ben in London, part of the Palace of Culture and Science, the building was a gift of friendship from the USSR to the people of Poland. Most Polish people reportedly despise the building, except maybe the many you will find in the long lines to buy tickets at Kinoteka, the multiplex cinema of the building. On my visit the line moved sluggishly but eventually led to a pretty young Polish girl who sold me a ticket and helped me pick out a seat for a screening of Antichrist, the latest from Lars von Trier.
I had heard buzz coming out from Cannes two weeks before that the film was shocking and offensive and being a fan of von Trier and thoroughly excited about his return to the horror genre, I was quite eager for the film. And apparently I was not the only one. Trier must have a fanbase in Poland or the Polish are just drawn to art house fare, but the cinema was quite full for a very early evening screening on a Friday. The film follows a couple whose only child died due to a lack of supervision as the two were indulging in the pleasures of the body. The recovery process spurred on by the therapist husband takes them to a cabin in the woods that has become a place of terror for the wife. From there things get violent and disturbing. The film certainly didnt seem to shock the Polish and it didnt quite shock me, more disappointed, though I admit there is one moment when I looked away.
The film appears to be at least somewhat von Triers response to the torture subgenre of horror that has been popular in American cinema and a critique of the hatred of women evident in that movement of the genre. von Trier displays more creativity and inventiveness in ways to torture his two characters than any other filmmaker working in this line of horror film today (see: Eli Roth), but the film is misguided in that von Trier seems to have nothing but hate for the genre in which he is working. And you can feel it.
While the film is impressively put together, the distance von Trier has for the subject ensures an alienating distance for the audience from the characters. The violence is shot in such a confronting manner and without any emotional weight, as if the audience isnt meant to feel for these characters going through some awful actions. As a result it feels that von Trier hates the graphic images that he puts on screen in this film and as a result it is hard to feel anything but contempt for them as an audience member.
The critique of the genre and its perpetuation of a hatred of women is so rich that it might be confused for an actual hatred of women from von Trier himself, which has been argued from previous films. The wife character is very much a product of the horror genre, but in acknowledging as much herself von Trier opens the role of the violent woman in cinema for thought. The actions of the wife and husband are so over the top versions of the stereotype and as such clearly satire, bringing these traits to the forefront for the audience. The Polish audiences laughter during the film certainly reinforced the absurdity of the film.
von Trier rips the torture genre to shreds in his own torture film, but his contempt for the genre leaves you a cold feeling that he doesnt like the film himself and doesnt care what you think of it.
