#004 – Antichrist (Lars von Trier, 2009)
October 28, 2009
Antichrist (Lars von Trier, 2009)
Hello all.
Although this film is labeled as a horror/suspense film, I am concerned the readers of this site (who have seen it) most likely do not see it as such. Sure, there are shocking images and it is most definitely full of suspense but I think it lacks some of the founding aspects of what constitutes a horror film. As I will warn with most of the films for this project, if you have not seen this film do not continue reading. In terms of this specific film, I honestly do not recommend you ever see it; therefore a good deal of this post is pointless. For those who haven’t followed my personal blog, you must know that I typically enjoy almost every film I watch. I would say about forty-five out of every fifty I watch I find some value in. This, unfortunately, is one of those five.
The opening sequence is absolutely brilliant, the cinematography and music are near-perfect. It all goes downhill from there. The first forty-five minutes are pretty decent, slow at times, but far from bad. Once the couple actually enters the forest (a “process” Dafoe’s character thinks will help his wife better cope with the loss of their child), everything gets beyond weird. For films I write on, I generally keep pretty good notes. For this film, I have about three fourths of a page of notes with numerous question marks and “What in the hells?” which is, in a film this straightforward, never a good thing. Another noteworthy element of this film is its shocking sequences. There are two particular scenes that are gut-wrenching, most likely the first time I have actually turned my head in a film since I was a kid. I failed to see any purpose in these scenes unfortunately, beyond the fact that it is a clear marking of when the film falls completely off.
Side note: this is only my second experience with a von Trier film, the first being the fantastic Europa. Another one of his films, Dancer in the Dark, will be featured in an upcoming project. I do fully intend to try and see as many of his films as possible; his work seems extremely interesting.
Thank you for reading!
October 28, 2009 at 10:16 am
[...] The new post is up on Cherished Cinema, on the film Antichrist. An interesting (and not very good) film to say the least, I hope you check that out. The Pacific is looking more and more fantastic, as a new trailer was released recently and can be found on its fansite, here. I intend on working my way through Band of Brothers sometime in the next few months. [...]
November 9, 2009 at 9:49 pm
[...] #2 – Antichrist [...]