“Antichrist” (2009)

What do we make of Lars von Trier’s latest exercise in cinematic provocation?  “Antichrist” is a film designed to divide and perhaps conquer its audience, an undeniably pretentious exploration of psychology, gender relations and religion.  Babies fall from windows, a fox mouths the words of Satan, a completely nude Charlotte Gainsbourg masturbates with more fury than pleasure at the foot of some symbolic tree and poor old Willem Dafoe - or his stunt-cock double - cums blood for the cause.  There’s also a genital mutilation scene that makes the one in “The Piano Teacher” look like “Bob the Builder”.

Von Trier’s plot isn’t that complicated.  As in most of his recent output he divides it into chapters, beginning with a prologue and finishing with a weird little coda.  An unnamed couple lose their son whilst fucking in the shower, exile themselves to a dank forest called Eden (nothing much is subtle in Von Trier’s world) and spectacularly fail to come out of the grieving process.  Inspired by lots of evil looking animals, some annoying acorns and old witch-burning stories they do very nasty things to each other.

Apparently Lars directed “Antichrist” when clinically depressed, emerging from a period of professional treatment whilst still not altogether in the best of head spaces.  In this sense it is akin to Bergman’s “Persona”, which was also written in an asylum by an artist at his lowest ebb.

In terms of the end product result it feels more like Bergman’s “Shame” - another film about marital disintegration - though without the same intellectual or aesthetic depth.  Dafoe and Gainsbourg might be physically fearless performers but they’re no match for Max Von Sydow and Liv Ullmann.  Not that Von Trier’s dialogue gives them huge opportunity.

Beyond the sheer shock value of mashed testicles and clitoridectomies there certainly are some creepy moments and arresting images.  What Von Trier’s symbolism is all about is beyond me but he has produced something that’s at least better than your average “Saw” sequel.  It’s far from his best work.