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Brutal Antichrist a Torture-Porn Nightmare

It's von Trier's masterpiece, or misogynistic tripe

By Jason Farago, Newser Staff

Posted Oct 23, 2009 8:20 AM CDT

(Newser) – Some critics call it a cinematic masterpiece, others say it's little more than a snuff film. But everyone agrees: Antichrist, the latest from Danish provocateur Lars von Trier, is unforgettable.

The film's scenes of brutal sex and violence are "undeniably shocking," writes Andrew O'Hehir of Salon, but Antichrist is loaded with "amazing ideas and images," plus two great performances from Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg. It's further proof that "von Trier is one of the most accomplished cinema artists of our time."

Claudia Puig of USA Today is far less impressed: "Antichrist is probably the most disturbing, bleak and self-indulgent film ever made." Its "ultra-explicit" depictions of self-mutilation and torture make it "a particularly misogynistic torture-porn film"—not a psychological horror movie but "an incoherent hodgepodge."
Ty Burr splits the difference in the Boston Globe: "Can profound art be made from profound misogyny? Yes, but here’s the catch: It doesn’t make the artist’s terror of women any less pathetic."

[Images (3)]

[Videos (1)]

Danish film director Lars von Trier arrives for a film screening at the Cannes film festival in 2005. (AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau)

Charlotte Gainsbourg in a scene from Antichrist. (AP Photo/IFC Films)

Willem Dafoe in a scene from Antichrist, directed by Lars von Trier. (AP Photo/IFC Films)

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The trailer for Antichrist, starring Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg. (MovieTrailersHD1)

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COMMENTS

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Showing 3 of 18 comments

jagerhans

Nov 25, 2009 6:11 AM CST

hey pothead , did you at least watch the movie before spitting bullshit ? in comparison to, say, saving private ryan or the passion by mel gibson, 'antichrist' sports very few scenes of violence. seriously, i think you are talking a lot of shit.

Newt

Oct 25, 2009 9:30 AM CDT

Viewed recently....Honestly I dont see how they can put so much fuss on a lil penis-into-vagina action that lasts maybe a few seconds. Overall boring and bland... Lawdy I never wanted to see the green Goblins~*claws eyes out*~ anything that close.

zackmasson

Oct 25, 2009 6:29 AM CDT

Gotta be better than saw VI, they have really squeezed every last drop out of saw.

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An interview with von Trier's 'misogyny consultant'
To Bathe in Filmic Waters

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movie review • Lars Von Trier • Willem Dafoe • Charlotte Gainsbourg

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Brutal Antichrist a Torture-Porn Nightmare