Antichrist

Aroview: Delivering laughter and revulsion in equal measure, Lars von Trier’s hugely controversial psychosexual opus – about a grieving couple who retreat to a remote cabin in the woods following the death of their young son – is certain to divide viewers.

A turgid melodrama whose notoriety is confined to a few perfunctory scenes of extreme sexual violence, the film consists mainly of heavy-handed, overwrought exchanges between its two lead actors: Charlotte Gainsbourg’s crippling depression managed by Willem Dafoe’s hilariously earnest attempts at grief therapy. At times hard to take seriously, and yet not without its talking points, this promises the best and worst of contemporary cinema, with dir. von Trier guaranteed a reaction from his audience, perhaps a measure of his success as a long-time provocateur.

NZ International Film Festival 2009

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