Lars Von Trier's‘Melancholia’ Reviews, Buzz Overshadowed by Nazi Jokes

Lars Von Trier’s newest feature film,Melancholia, played to“enthusiastic applause” and eventually rave reviews on Wednesday at the Cannes Film Festival, but the ever-controversial filmmaker upstaged his own work by making comments about being a Nazi and sympathizing with Adolf Hitler.

At the post-screeningpress conference, a soft-spoken Lars Von Trier fielded the first question by saying he had nothing to say, a far cry from this time two years ago when he dubbed himself,“the best film director in the world.” The panel continued to answer the usual questions about working with the director and the themes of the film, and Von Trier occasionally chimed in with a quip, including one where he imples his film“may be crap.”

But, roughly twenty minutes later, a more playful Von Trier finished a question about the film’s aesthetic by deadpanning a joke scenario about his next film being a porn flick that Dunst“insisted” on making immediately. Dunst brightened with embarrassment and Gainsbourg chuckled beside him.  The two ladies’ plan to have lots of“unpleasant sex” was clearly in jest, even if his last film, the provocative Antichrist, opened with an explicit hardcore sex scene between Gainsbourg and Willem Dafoe.

But, nearing the end of the conference, eyebrows met already skyward noses at Cannes as Von Trier took a question about his German roots from a British member of the press.

“The only thing I can tell is that I thought I was a Jew for a long time. I was very happy being a Jew. Then later on came {Oscar-winning director} Susanne Bier, then suddenly I wasn’t so happy about being a Jew. No, that was a joke.” Some scattered laughter came from the audience.“Even if I was a Jew,” Von Trier continued,“I would be a second rate Jew because there’s a hierarchy in the Jewish population. Then I found out I was really a Nazi.”

“What can I say, I understand Hitler. I think he did some wrong things, yes. Absolutely. I can see him sitting in his bunker at the end.” It’s here a visibly uncomfortable Dunst tries to stop him.“I think I understand the man. He’s not what you would call a good guy, but I understand much about him and I sympathize with him a little bit. But I’m not for the second World War and I’m not against Jews. No, not even Susanne Bier. That was also a joke. I’m very much for Jews. No, not too much because Israel is a pain in the ass. How can I get out of this sentence?” Given an out for his foot-in-mouth comments, Von Trier concluded by adding, flippantly,“Okay, I’m a Nazi.”

What doesn’t come across in writing is that his pitch-black humor is accompanied by his low-key smirk and laughter from the audience throughout his off-topic descent into uncomfortable Nazi declarations. But, like his porn movie follow-up bit, Von Trier couldn’t let it go.“Yes. We Nazis like to do things on a big scale. Maybe I could do The Final Solution, but with journalists.” After the conference ended, live microphones picked up Dunst telling him,“Oh Lars, that was intense.”

Von Trier has since publicly apologized for his remarks in a statement, but much of the media’s focus is already off the movie itself, whichSaloncritic Andrew O’Hehir called a“magnificent apocalyptic fable” and something“truly special” even amongst stiff Cannes competition.Indiewire’s Eric Kohn andEntertainment Weekly’s Lisa Schwarzbum dubbed the film a“masterpiece.” But, while Von Trier may have impishly stirred the public relations pot for himself, his comments upstage Dunst’s performance, whichHitFix’s Drew McWeeney calls“the best work of her career” in his review.

Headlines haven’t been kind to the director today, but neither were reviews posted byThe Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw or theHollywood Reporter’s Todd McCarthy, who called the feature“a giggling aria of pretend pain and faux rapture” and, simply,“a bore,” respectively. It’s a shame the conversation has shifted because of a few innocuous remarks.

Update: Cannes hasbanned Von Trierfrom the remainder of the festival.

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