On this essay I will be focusing on Lars Von Trier background and biography. I will then list some of his major contributions to the art work, and his most famous works of art. I will include some interesting facts that have influenced him throughout his life and which I thought were important for his development as a filmmaker. Finally I will conclude the essay with my personal opinion of his character and overall art work. Von Trier was born in Copenhagen, Denmark in April 1956. He graduated from
In the film Dogville written and directed by Lars von Trier, there is no outdoor or indoor movie set in the traditional sense that they film on. Instead the director chose to use a large empty stage, set up like a large blueprint of the town of Dogville with each house individually named and outlined. The entirety of the movie is shot on this stage and it is never left once, much like a theatrical play but with no audience. There is also no musical score, and the only sound added to the film are
Nymphomaniac vol. I & II directed by Lars Von Trier marks his third and final installment of his “Trilogy of Depression”. The film opens up with Joe (Charlotte Gainsbourg), laying on the ground, beaten and bloody, as a man, Seligman, (Stellan Skarsgård) returning from a store passes her and offers her help. She refuses any sort of medical help, and insists that he does not call the ambulance and instead asks for a cup of tea. Seligman tells her he does not “serve tea on the street” and escorts her
pulled of in such a way that the final scene is filled with such raw power and emotion that it will leave you numb, cold and completely and utterly useless. This film uses the viewer like nothing you have ever seen. All of the cynics should take heed of Von Trier's style and commitment to pursuing human truth. If you want something different then you must see this film as it will challenge you to hold back your emotions and maybe even use them. It is a work of genius. Nothing short of a masterpiece. If
them there are a few avenues they can explore. One of the most powerful is cinema. There are a number of great films that explore this subject in detail, and shed light on a perspective most Americans may not be familiar with. Two such films are Lars Von Trier’s portrait of everyday American life called Dogville, and the other is Francis Ford Coppola’s war epic Apocalypse Now. Although both films are quite different, both emphasize and reinforce the negative stereotypes associated with Americans
why in 1995, the Danish film directors Lars von Trier, Thomas Vinterberg, Kristian Levring, and Søren Kragh-Jacobsen, created the film genre of Dogme95. In an effort to save filmmaking from over stylized ‘Hollywood bourgeois’, Dogme95 had a set of strict rules that any director undertaking the genre had to adhere to, in an effort to keep the film pure, and bring filmmaking back to what they believed it was supposed to be about: storytelling. Lars von Trier is famous for creating both Dogme95, and
Lars von Trier is undoubtedly a polarizing filmmaker. His repertoire invokes a range of emotions from earnest avoidance to curious infatuation. He’s been pointed out as a purveyor of misogyny as he famously and deliberately places many of his females in rather unkind situations to say the least (i.e. the brain-searing climax in Antichrist). And his penchant to depict the uncomfortable and sometimes unfathomable has been interpreted as obscene and sensationalist for its own sake. And yet his work
directed by Lars Von Trier. 1996. Hillman, James. Re-Visioning Psychology. New York: Harper & Row, 1989. Jung, Carl G. The Essential Jung. Introduced and Edited by Anthony Storr. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1983. Jung, Emma and Marie-Louise von Franz. The Grail Legend. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1970. Segal, Robert A. Encountering Jung on Mythology. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1995. Tatar, Maria. The Hard Facts of the Grimms' Fairy Tales. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1995. von Franz, Marie-Louise
Based on what I watched and understood in the movie Lars Von Trier’s “Breaking the Waves”, relating it to the Kierkegaardian concept of the teleological suspension of the ethical, Bess McNeill shows ethical acts to her husband, Jan. But the question is, what is ethical? Ethical means that the thing or action which a society follows or a set of standards or norms that to be followed. It is applicable to the universal and it is in ethical that which distinguishes either our action is good or bad. It
distinctive style. Furthermore, studies on the Auteur Theory in Film have often looked towards Lars Von Trier as the Cinemas "enfant terrible" due to his controversial approach to rebelling against the conventional with provocative ideas and projects in each of his films. Born near Copenhagen in 1956, the future filmmaker had an atypical childhood. As a student at Denmark's National film school, Von Trier produced his first feature films 'The Element of Crime' (1984) and 'Europa' (1991) which were
Lars von Trier’s Nymphomaniac (2013) sparked controversy even before its stateside release during a matinee screening of Disney’s Frozen (Buck/Lee, 2013) in Tampa, Florida. The usual routine began as the projectionist prepared to screen the film: the lights of the cinema began to dim, the projection screen turned black, and the usual filler of cartoons and trailers started rolling. And then something unusual happened. According to one unsuspecting grandmother, “They put in the filler, it looked like
Sadness, downswings in mood, setbacks, and disappointments are prominent themes in Melancholia (Lars Von Trier, 2011). The film uses many formal elements such as editing techniques, point of view shots, and the positioning of characters within the editing and mise-en scene to involve, alert, and implicate the viewers. For example, the opening scene is a close up shot of Justine’s wet blonde hair, head and neck. Her eyes are seen shut with her head slightly tilted to the center left of the frame.
I will analyze Lars Von Trier “Manderlay” with regards to the following five factors: setting, props, characterization, theme and genre. Trier create the movie “Manderlay” and several more to generates the idea of American greed, racism, and the misuse of power. To whom he thought that American was unrecognizable to any American was irrelevant. Even though, most Hollywood movies deny their entertainment as a pretend act. Presenting imaginary worlds was a way that showed unrealistic sense of reality
The Kitchen Table Series by Carrie Mae Weems is a photo series comprised of 24 black-and-white images that represent the weight household spaces carry regarding intimacy and domesticity, as well as the woman’s role in a nuclear household. Carrie Mae Weems is both an artist and an activist, reflecting on her personal experiences as well as the experience of specifically black women contextualized through history and art. This essay argues that Weems uses her art, specifically this photo series, to
Before this semester I had never taken a moment to ask myself - Who is Jesus? It is something that I have never been given the option to question. Being brought up in a strong Christian background, where I went to mass every Sunday, and then following mass, went to bible school for two hours, ingrained a specific image of Jesus into my head. This image portrayed Jesus as a white man who preformed miracles for the poor and oppressed, and also sacrificed himself on the cross for all of humanity’s’
Cinematic shots, angles, movement and lighting, deepened the meaning of alienation The filmmaker has often chosen high angle shots to subordinate the subject, and made the protagonists appear weak, helpless, or small in the society. This approach was effectively used by the director in films like Danny, Ponthan Mada, Alicinte Aneshanam, Bhoomimalayalam, Padam Onnu Oru Vilapam, and Vilapangalkkapuram. Moreover, a differential approach was used by the director in portraying male and female protagonists
Cult and Independent Films A cult film or cult classic is a piece of film work that has gained an audience following that can be classified as ‘cult’. A cult following is usually identifiable through the dedication and passion of the fan base that has lead to the establishment of a subculture. Cult films are usually screened repeatedly at small independent cinemas and encourage audiences to quote dialogue and other types of audience participation. Cult films are usually box office bombs that were