A Subdued Lars Von Trier Talks Cannes Comeback Movie & Addiction: “I Felt Horrible During Filming”
Louisiana Channel
Filmmaker Lars von Trier remains his own worst enemy. That was one of the obvious takeaways from an engrossing but also slightly concerning new discussion with the polarizing director.
In a rare interview given this month to the in-house TV channel of Denmarks arts platform The Louisiana Museum, a pale, hirsute and subdued von Trier discussed his on-going battle with addiction and his now infamous expulsion from Cannes in 2011.
“I felt horrible during filming for this film, and thats not anyones fault but my own,” explains the Palme dOr-winning director about making his new movie The House That Jack Built, which will debut next month on the Riviera. Von Triers battles with anxiety and addiction have been documented in the past and they dont seem to have dissipated.
“I was just anxious, alcoholized and so on,” continues the director, whose appearance and tone is markedly different from the sprightly and mischievous character we have come to know. “Now Im in all sorts of associations where Im trying to reach sobriety. But its hard. Its really hard… Alcohol is self-medicating, and sadly, insanely effective. The problem is when the alcohol level drops the anxiety hits you even harder. Its a non-solution.”
The maverick director has previously spoken of his need to drink in order to create. But he doesnt expect to return to feature filmmaking in the near future. “I cant face making a film,” confirms the 61-year-old. Instead he plans to make a series of short black and white films. “Then Im going to work with Nordic actors because there are so many good ones.”
One of the few times the Dogville and Antichrist helmer rekindles his famously naughty glint is when describing how he and others would “drink schnapps in massive quantities at Nordisk Film.” When his interviewer, Peter Schepelern from the University of Copenhagen, asks the arch-provocateur if he still teases, von Trier decides to once again set the record straight about his ill-judged comments from Cannes in 2011.
“If I can get away with it. But I tease very little. If were going to talk about the whole Hitler affair, which I would like to say a few words about, youve seen the press conference a few times and I think it was destroyed by the moderator because he didnt let me clean up after myself. That last, Well ok then Im a Nazi, thats something you say to each other when youre in a discussion and the other wont give up and you say it just to give in… Of course Im not a Nazi. Id like to say absolutely unequivocally that I dont approve of any of Hitlers actions. I abhor his callousness and brutality. He was a piece of shit.”
In the wide ranging interview, which coincided with the director being awarded Denmarks most prestigious cultural award, the Sonning Prize, von Trier discusses how film festival juries select winners. According to the filmmaker, top prizes often go to “middle of the road movies because everyone must agree.” A case in point was his Palme dOr in 2000 for Dancer In The Dark, he suggests, which was given more for his “process and body of work” than the film itself.
The directors muted manner is somewhat poignant to observe, perhaps especially for those who have encountered addiction. As with many artists, von Triers demons clearly drive him on but are also his Achilles heel. The filmmaker was never less than thought-provoking in what he had to say, however, especially about his working habits. The auteur talked about his need for single-mindedness and how he often feels like “an explorer who has been dropped on a desert island and told to go east.” That led to one of his most memorable lines from the discussion: “I try to avoid watching new movies. Because the worst thing that could happen, would be that I got excited about something.”
The director did not address comments from his Dancer In The Dark protagonist Bjork that she was harassed by a Danish filmmaker. Von Trier has previously denied his role in any such claim. Neither did he touch on last years claims of workplace bullying at Zentropa, the Scandi production powerhouse he co-founded in 1992.
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