Antichrist (2009)

[Plain Old Tele]

Discuss.

[The Stingray]

One of the most bullshit movies I have seen in some time. Pretentious, nonsensical crap at its worst. F+.

[Jake Gittes]

Masterpiece. 

[luna]

another masterpiece from von trier, this time about anxiety.

 

93

[Jack Nevada]

Booooooooooooooooooooring. 

[JohnnY]

Oh, this one is hard to understand, it has a really complex simbology, it's not as clear as his other films. But I actually really dislike when people dissect a movie and engage in a thorough analysis in order to explain it.

 

It seemed to me that LVT was implying that nature is evil, a place where chaos reigns and you can hear the cry of all the things that are to die. The woman arrives at the conclusion that, if human nature is evil, so is the female nature, and then we see her becoming a crazy maniac. Is this an attempt to say that, after all, human nature is indeed evil? I'm not sure, maybe I'm just looking to what I want to find. I really don't wanna go deep into analysing the simbology of the film, but the deer carrying a dead baby, the eagle (I guess?) eating the dead falling chick and the fox biting itself all seemed to me as a reference to the chaos that reigns in nature. All I got from trying to understand this film was hopelesness, why is that these women are always suffering and arriving at gloomy conclusions about life in his films?

 

Regardless of what all of this means, LVT did manage to create another depressing and distressful environment, again we have agonizing depictions of psychological issues, self inflicted pain, severe anxiety, lack of empathy... This time much more explicit and graphic than in his other movies. I read a few reviews and apparently lots of people adore this film for its bleakness and symbolism, some of them praising the director for doing such a well crafted work of art that shows human angst through religious symbols. I hate when people appreciate disturbing films because they made them feel bad, another thing I hate is the excessive adoration of style and technique, and this time I found both: a bunch of people who loved this film because its intricate symbolism caused them to feel anguished.

 

 

[Jake Gittes]

I guess all cinema should just be a bunch of feel-good, "life-affirming" movies that never challenge or confront anyone, or deal with the angst, darkness, anxieties and issues that are all very real.

[JohnnY]

I guess all cinema should just be a bunch of feel-good, "life-affirming" movies that never challenge or confront anyone, or deal with the angst, darkness, anxieties and issues that are all very real.

 

My friend said the same thing to me, that I just want happy endings... I believe that we all will go through suffering in life and this is supposed to make us stronger, life is not only composed of happy moments, but those moments of angst should inspire us to improve ourselves. Even in a sad ending I want something that inspires courage, optmism or anything else that affirms life. The problem in LVT's films is that all that suffering never seem to go anywhere, it always leads to death, nothingness and pain. His characters are always rambling about how worthless life is and how doomed we are, it's like you're sinking into darkness instead of trying to come out of it stronger. 

[Popcorn Lobotomy]

I'd go with the symbology and deeper meaning if any of it made sense. I read dozens of articles (while researching my video review) trying to explain the movie that way and none of them can really accommodate all of the events and visuals in the film, at least not with any symbolic consistency.

 

In fact, Lars Von Trier himself admits he doesn't know what the film means, that he was just depressed, tried meditating with some shamans and ended up hallucinating all these weird images that became the basis for this film.

 

There are some amazing images and even some emotional moments in this film, but overall it's just depressing drivel. LVT made it because he has major mental issues and probably just craves attention.

 

I go into more detail (and in a more entertaining way) in my video review:

 

 

[JohnnyGossamer]

I actually finally saw that somewhat recently. Somewhat disappointed but my expectations were pretty high. Sits with you. B.