Ларс фон Триер - скандалист и новатор, главный возмутитель спокойствия в современном европейском кинематографе, любимый режиссер директора Каннского кинофестиваля Жиля Жакоба, автор нашумевшего манифеста "Догма-95" и постановщик таких кинохитов, как "Преступный элемент" и "Европа", "Королевство" и "Рассекая волны", "Идиоты" и "Танцующая в темноте", "Догвиль" и "Мандерлей". В данной книге, представляющей все этапы карьеры фон Триера, от ранних короткометражек до "Самого главного босса" (2006), собраны его беседы с видным шведским кинематографистом и кинокритиком Стигом Бьоркманом.
Very interesting and insightful, my only gripe being that the book is quite dated, with the lion's share of the interviews centring on his earlier films which I haven't seen. It was a shame to only have a few pages on the later films. But despite not having seen the earlier films I still found the interviews very interesting as the discussions were mostly about general issues (like how he chooses cast, lighting, camerawork, etc) and not just specific to those particular films. It was interesting to realise just how fearful and anxious v Trier is. A shame that there was no real attempt to tackle the misogyny that many have seen in his films. (personally I don't think that's fair, but it is definitely a perception that his films can create).
This is another one only to read if you love von trier as I do. I recomend keeping a pen and paper with you because you will want to research some of the directors that recieve von trier's fanatical approval in this book. He is also a genuinely interesting person very much in the vein of people that make you think, I will never be that talented or successful, nor would I want to be as mad as he is if thats what it takes to get there.
Lars turns out to be not at all the jerk that I had imagined. Instead we see his growth from a puppeteer into a director who works patiently with his actors. He is a congenial interviewee and very comfortable on his home turf. He is honest and has a good idea of his shortcomings as a person and as an artist. What might look like arrogance to a casual observer turns out, I think, just to be stubbornness and his need for control. He is smart and has very distinct ideas which I'm sure have been highly influential-- for example in his discussion of Dancer in the Dark & modern musicals, I felt like I was reading the inspiration or genesis of the movie-musical "Once".
I dislike the man and dislike most of his films (I honestly prefer stig Bjorkman's films, who is interviewing Trier here, much more), but this book represent his persona perfectly: filled with blatant lies and instant provocations it shows how Trier manipulated whole cinema world into liking him. The most interesting part though is his childhood. He was raised in a parenting system of a full freedom. As a child he got to decide himself when he goes to school, does he want to visit a dentist or what he is going to eat or to wear. His parents stripped themselves of all parenting rights (but not obligations). I think Trier became vivid example of what can be achieved with this system.
Von Trier being interviewed is about as annoying as Von Trier directing. His films, however, have the crucial factor of being at the very least interesting; his personality, not so.