The article focuses on the strategies of provocation in films of the Danish director Lars von Trier. His two films, Manderlay and Antichrist, are interpreted here as the examples of the perverted denial of political, cultural, gender and moral norms. The text also discusses the differences in reception of von Trier’s films in Denmark, other European countries and in the USA.
This essay brings forward and analyzes some constitutive elements of Lars von Trier’s Antichrist that enable an understanding of its alleged morbidity and misogyny in terms of the sovereignty of aesthetic experience and its relation to the problem of cultural nihilism. These elements are the followings: the juxtaposition of horror and lyricism, and a corresponding archaic understanding of nature; the disengagement of visual and audio elements from their narrative function, and a corresponding deconstruction of the representational character of the movie itself.
The aim of this article is to analyse mutual behaviours, life situations and experiences that heroines of Lars von Trier’s so-called Depression Trilogy share. These female characters are created in such a way that they are unable to function as parts of society or follow some stereotypical roles attached to femininity. They neither understand patriarchal organization of the world nor accept other women who want to follow rules created by men. The author of this article emphasises on the importance of two paradigms of femininity present both in von Trier’s Depression Trilogy and his previous films. The first one is demonic, sexual, free and insane, and the other one – social, obedient to masculinity, ruled by stereotypes of women. The protagonists of Depression Trilogy are unable to fulfil their roles as mothers and wives, which is a consequence of the fact that they feel limited when some rules are imposed on them. They treat their femininity and sexuality rather as natural powers, which means they should be classified into the first of the abovementioned paradigms.
W swych rozważaniach nad melancholijnym wymiarem świętowania autorka poddaje analizie cztery filmy: „Godziny” (2002) Stephena Daldry’ego, „Margot jedzie na ślub” (2007) Noaha Baumbacha, „Rachel wychodzi za mąż” (2008) Jonathana Demme’a i „Melancholię” (2011) Larsa von Triera. W każdej z tych produkcji Korczarowska tropi ewidentnie melancholijne nacechowanie fabuły i rysów głównych bohaterów. Partie analityczne tekstu, odnoszące się także do warstwy ikonograficznej tych filmów, pozwalają autorce na konstatację, że choć święto potrzebuje radosnego nastroju, a w swej istocie ma łączyć wspólnotę, pozwalać jednostkom i grupom – za pomocą rytuałów – „przechodzić” bezpiecznie ze zwykłego trwania czasowego do czasu sakralnego, to jednak w trakcie świętowania z destrukcyjną siłą objawia się właśnie melancholia. Dzieje się tak prawdopodobnie dlatego, że w trakcie przyjęcia urodzinowego, weselnej fety lub uroczystego rodzinnego obiadu niespodziewanie uświadamiamy sobie, że coś odeszło od nas raz na zawsze.
EN
In her reflections on the melancholy dimension of celebration, the author analyses four films: “The Hours” (2002) by Stephen Daldry, “Margot at the Wedding” (2007) by Noah Baumbach, “Rachel Getting Married” (2008) by Jonathan Demme and “Melancholia” (2011) by Lars von Trier. In each of these productions, Korczarowska clearly identifies the melancholy character of the plot and features of the main characters. The analytical parts of the text, also referring to the iconographic layer of these films, allow the author to conclude that, although celebration needs a happy mood, and in essence it has to unite the community, and let individuals and groups – using rituals – “pass” safely from the ordinary duration of time to sacred time, it is during the celebration that melancholy manifests itself with a destructive force. This is probably because, during a birthday party, wedding fête or a solemn family dinner, we unexpectedly realize that something has passed away from us once and for all.
The article is an attempt to interpret The Five Obstructions, a film by Lars von Trier and Jørgen Leth that is a documentary record of a real meeting between the two directors, and of the project they undertook. According to plans, Leth was supposed to make five new versions of his film The Perfect Human from 1967. The result of Trier and Leth’s cooperation represents a hybrid of genres, difficult to classify by means of standard categories. Most of all, however, the film is self-referential, and therefore, the article discusses different aspects of documentary work in general, including the originality of a work of art, the issue of difference and repetition, the situation of the creator, and the concept and status of a work of art. Ultimately, the interpreted film provides a potential starting point for formulating a thesis on the documentary as a set of artistic conventions and rules for creatively engaging art and reality.
PL
The article is an attempt to interpret The Five Obstructions, a film by Lars von Trier and Jørgen Leth that is a documentary record of a real meeting between the two directors, and of the project they undertook. According to plans, Leth was supposed to make five new versions of his film The Perfect Human from 1967. The result of Trier and Leth’s cooperation represents a hybrid of genres, difficult to classify by means of standard categories. Most of all, however, the film is self-referential, and therefore, the article discusses different aspects of documentary work in general, including the originality of a work of art, the issue of difference and repetition, the situation of the creator, and the concept and status of a work of art. Ultimately, the interpreted film provides a potential starting point for formulating a thesis on the documentary as a set of artistic conventions and rules for creatively engaging art and reality.
In this essay, we attempt to convey Lars von Trier’s Melancholia in the light of Friedrich Nietzsche’s philosophy, i.e., the three metamorphoses of the spirit, contained in Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Three levels of existence (the camel, lion and child) are ascribed to the main character, Justine, whose evolution can be seen during the film. In the face of the film’s intended ambiguity, we suggest treating our essay as a voice in the discussions about Trier’s movie, which has provoked plenty of different interpretations.
PL
Ambiguity of Melancholy In this essay, we attempt to convey Lars von Trier’s Melancholia in the light of Friedrich Nietzsche’s philosophy, i.e., the three metamorphoses of the spirit, contained in Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Three levels of existence (the camel, lion and child) are ascribed to the main character, Justine, whose evolution can be seen during the film. In the face of the film’s intended ambiguity, we suggest treating our essay as a voice in the discussions about Trier’s movie, which has provoked plenty of different interpretations.
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