Lars Von Trier: Interviews

Conversations With Filmmakers Series

by Jan Lumholdt (Editor)

With six entries at the Cannes Film Festival thus far, Lars von Trier has been a Cannes award winner four times. Without question, he is the most intriguing film director to emerge in Denmark since the days of his great mentor in spirit Carl Theodor Dreyer. A relentless visionary, von Trier (b. 1956) has succeeded not only in realizing his projects but also in managing to gather substantial audiences to his films. Breaking the Waves (1996) made him a well-known figure to American audiences, as did Dancer in the Dark (2000), winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes.

His work on the groundbreaking TV series The Kingdom (1994-97) made him a household name in Denmark. He has continued to stir controversy for his polarizing views on the characters and subject matter of his films, as well as for his film technique. Media attention reached its peak when von Trier created Dogme 95, a movement dedicated to the "Vow of Chastity," which strips cinema of its artifice, flash, and polish.

Rather than being strident or shrill, however, these collected interviews reveal the Danish filmmaker to be impish, forthright, witty, sometimes infuriating, and deeply committed to the possibilities of cinema. The conversations in this collection trace his development from the structured, image-obsessed formalist of The Element of Crime (1984) and Europa (U.S. title Zentropa, 1991) to the control-shunning game master of the 1990s.

Most of these interviews, two previously unpublished, are translated into English for the first time. They begin in 1968, when von Trier was the lead actor in a children's TV series, and end in 2001. Von Trier speaks of his visions, ideals, dislikes, and technical experimentations, of his conception of actors, his childhood, his phobias, and of his views on religion and his ill-fated female protagonists. His style in conversation is relaxed and honest, his mood affirmative and passionate.

Jan Lumholdt is a freelance journalist in Stockholm. He is a former editor of Cinema, and his work has been published in Film International and Film Comment, as well as in Danish, German, and Swedish periodicals.

Genres: Film, Art

270 pages, Paperback

First published June 16, 2003

Reviews

[Judd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard not to like this asshole for some reason.

[rogue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a bad read, since it's nice to be in Lars von Trier's company. What's interesting about this book is that it collects interviews with Lars over the years, so you can see how he was answering questions back when he was 26 versus when he's 43. It's interesting to watch him grow over time and to see the essential thread of fascination that runs from his youth to his middle age. However, he became a much better interviewee once he hit the age of 40, so other than to show his change in personality, I found the early interviews to be a bit boring. His answers really become more interesting and complex around page 100-170. For this reason, I recommend instead the book "Lars on Von Trier" which covers the same material, but from his more mature standpoint. He's much better there at analyzing his old films and recounting stories from the past.

[Jason Coffman · Rating 4 out of 5]

If, like me and many other film fans, you have a "complicated" relationship with Lars von Trier, then I can't recommend this to you enough. Excellent, wide-ranging collection of interviews with von Trier covering his youth (he was the lead actor in a television miniseries!) up through preparations for shooting "Dogville." The Lars von Trier you expect is on display-- egotistical, contradictory, mischievous-- but you also see much more of his personality and learn much more about what motivates him. My biggest complaint is that the book is about a decade out of date now!

[Suzette · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was pretty good. Lars tells the story of finding out he wasn't Jewish several times.

[David Braga · Rating 4 out of 5]

He's insane, so naturally these are entertaining although pretty pretentious