Friday, June 24, 2011

'Antichrist.' A review.

If I were not so spellbound with the atrocities committed on the silver screen, I would say something intelligent right off the bat. Maybe this is too soon to write anything on what I saw in that rich, vivid nightmare called Antichrist, but I'm determined to sort this out.

This is the kind of film which blends 70's Cannibal exploitation with the modern day pornographic expectation and concocts an art house thriller. It was scary. Most likely the most frightening thing I have ever seen. Detracted from any form of mirth, a couple sets out to their cabin in the woods to sort through the grief of losing their son but are entangled with the brooding evil that violently awaits them. A degradation from intimate passion in their relationship to downright violation is at stake and it doesn't end until someone pays a hefty price.

Danish director, Lars Von Trier, steps out of his own closet of insecurities and imbalance to produce the most intense story of absolute existential fear and derision. As Colin Covert's review stated, "It uses shock effects to batter down our complacency and poses difficult, unsettling questions about living rationally in an irrational world. Most films are idle daydreams. This is an ice cold nightmare." I couldn't agree more.

The therapist husband, in an effort to spur on her efforts of overcoming the grief, tells her what our minds think we can achieve. This motif is very much like the existentialist idea that says we can define our chaotic universe once we come face to face with angst, but as the fox in the woods said in such a surrealist fashion, "chaos reigns." This chilling phrase reverberated throughout the remainder of the film as all hopes of regaining control of the situation gradually disappeared.

Now with that said, my personal regards to this film are pretty straight forward and not the typical liberal, lenient outlook which openly invites all genres, styles and stories regardless of content and moral implications. This one in particular did something to me that I cannot put into words but it was something very wrong.

I can remember years ago coming back from the theater with my friends and sisters from the theater where we had just seen The Exorcism of Emily Rose. I liked the film, its message and the way a somewhat true story was transformed into a very explosive style of delivery, as is custom with modern horror films with compelling spiritual themes. We got home and I came to my sisters bedroom where the girls had assembled holding hands and praying for each other. Apparently what they had seen really affected them deeply and they wanted to rid themselves of whatever it was that had disturbed them and taken their peace. I felt slightly amused that it would come to such a thing and that we would need to pray for protection from the elements presented on the screen. I slept fine. But with Antichrist, I feel that very disturbance which they must have felt and I think I can now empathize.

I did not enjoy seeing this film. I enjoyed the rich imagery, the completely free and dangerous acting, the lighting, the overall mise en scène. But overall, this movie disturbed me at a very deep and cerebral level. I wanted less but I needed more in terms of the story. There were so many questions and the disturbance inside me grew and grew. I was also upset about the chapter headings in between portions of the story; it was unnecessary to me even though it gave it the look and feel of a fable. Covert goes on to say, "Lars von Trier's "Antichrist" exists in an orbit all its own, where conventional judgments don't apply. It is a challenge, not an entertainment. To watch the Danish provocateur's new film is to experience unrelenting pain, shading into revulsion, while being inspired by his virtuoso command of the medium and sharp intelligence." (http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/movies/69869292.html?page=1&c=y)

Antichrist is a phenomenal film but is not for the faint of heart. There is a lot to stomach and it must be handled with much maturity.