5 Lars von Trier films that we recommend

We talk about one of the film directors most controversial and admired in the history of the seventh art. None of Lars von Trier’s films are indifferent to his (increasingly widening) audience. The treatment of the themes, the management of the space and the methodology with which he approaches his stories are very interesting; the actors and actresses he works with, the envy of any filmmaker.

It is not surprising, then, that it arouses the same passions as hatred. Some, moved by envy and jealousy; others, justified in their comments, often out of touch, and their characteristic black humor. A heartbreaking humor that, according to his words, he does not intend to abandon.

Lars von Trier in the Cannes Film Festival. Image from CNN.

The jury and organizers of one of the most important film competitions in the world declared it persona non grata when in 2011 he made various Nazi and anti-Semitic jokes (being Jewish himself), thus threatening his prolific career.

However, this turning point did not have this effect. His films have continued to be acclaimed by the most select critics; tickets to his feature films continue to sell like hotcakes and the number of followers of his works grows year after year.

He enfant terrible of cinema has arrived…to stay.

Lars von Trier’s 5 best films

Melancholia

This film, starring Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg, focuses on the life of a young woman with a tendency toward melancholy. In the first part, we observe her feeling of sadness at the disaster of her wedding and the tortuous relationship with her parents; in the second, his time through depression.

Her sister, Claire, will be the one to help her by welcoming her into her mansion, but shortly after they will discover that a strange planet called Melancholia is about to collide with the earth.

Dogville

Dogville is considered one of Lars von Trier’s great films. Starring actresses of the stature of Nicole Kidman and Lauren Bacall, tells the story of a mysterious woman who takes refuge in a small town.

There, we can observe the development of his relationship with the different inhabitants of the place, and how the Danish director It perfectly reconstructs the evolution of emotions. Submission, guilt, anger, envy and love are perfectly drawn and outlined in this fantastic feature film.

Nymphomaniac (Parts I and II)

Possibly, Nymphomaniac is one of Lars von Trier’s films that has raised the most blisters. Its theme, that mixes the erotic with the violent, has made it become a cult classic, praised by some and detested by others. Once again, a female protagonist carries the plot burden of the feature film. Joe, an adult woman, is found, wounded, by an elderly man.

He saves her and takes her home. There, she will tell him a story about her life, starting with her adolescence and his first flirtations with sex, going through the acceptance of her nymphomania, and deepening her relationship with the people around her.

Antichrist

A masterpiece of the grotesque and, perhaps, the best made by the Danish director. In Antichrist We witness the degradation of a couple after the accidental death of their son Nick. The father, a therapist, decides to take his wife to a cabin where they spent the last summer with him, without anticipating the situations that he will have to face.

The mixture of dreamlike, terror and sadness turns Antichrist into a movie strange, difficult and, at the same time, exciting. The performances of Willem Defoe and (again) a fantastic Charlotte Gainsbourg, are, without a doubt, brilliant.

Still from “The Antichrist”.

dance in the dark

This musical, starring Icelandic singer Björk and French actress Catherine Deneuve, tells the progress of a young Czech mother who moves to the United States in search of a better life for herself and her son.

It won’t take us long to discover that He suffers from a degenerative disease that causes blindness. Her fight to prevent her son from being left without resources as he loses vision contrasts with her feeling of loneliness and the love that others unsuccessfully try to give her.

At the forefront of political correctness

That Lars von Trier continues to be successful, after all, is thanks to his talent. To his originality, his creativity and his ability to capture complicated, but very real, emotions and situations.

To do this, it uses, as we see, a very deep and open exposition of sexuality and without avoiding other controversial and uncomfortable topics. It also usually has intelligent casting that draws from a pool of select actors. those who do not care about the sordidness of their plots. Because, in the end, What is cinema, if not a representation of real life?

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