Lars von Trier: Expelled From Cannes Over Hitler Joke

[ChronoGrl]

Danish Director Barred From Festival After Making Hitler Jokes

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/20/mo...ovies&emc=mua1

By DENNIS LIM
Published: May 19, 2011

The Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier has been a fixture at the Cannes Film Festival throughout his career. All but one of his features have had their premieres here, and he won the top prize, the Palme d’Or, in 2000 for “Dancer in the Dark.” But the longstanding relationship came to an abrupt halt on Thursday when the festival’s board of directors declared Mr. von Trier “persona non grata” a day after he joked at a news conference for his latest film, “Melancholia,” that he was a Nazi and sympathized with Hitler.

...

All seemed to be going well for a while on Wednesday morning. “Melancholia,” which Mr. von Trier has described as his response to his battle with depression, was met with applause — and just a few boos — at its press screening, and there were no hostile questions at the conference. The trouble began more than half an hour into the conference, as Mr. von Trier spoke about the use of Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde” in the film, which is about two sisters and the end of the world, describing it as “an important work in the German romantic tradition.” A question followed from a British journalist about what Mr. von Trier had described in a Danish magazine as his interest in the Nazi aesthetic and his German roots, which he discovered as an adult.

Mr. von Trier began his response by alluding to his background. (He has said in interviews that his mother on her deathbed told him that her husband was not Mr. von Trier’s real father and that until then he had believed he was Jewish.) “I really wanted to be a Jew, and then I found out that I was really a Nazi,” he said. Invoking Hitler, he added: “I think I understand the man. He’s not what you would call a good guy. But I understand much about him, I sympathize with him a little bit.”

Mr. von Trier fumbled to clarify his position. “I’m not against Jews, not even Susanne Bier,” he said, referring to the Danish filmmaker who won the best foreign-language Oscar this year for “In a Better World.” He then concluded the monologue with another attempt at a joke. “O.K., I’m a Nazi,” he said, prompting some laughs in the room.

Yeesh. Ok. Inappropriate? Yes. But I read this more like he was making an attempt at humor (though inappropriate)... Do I think he should have been expelled? I honestly don't think so... Bad taste, sure, but he sounds like a really awkward guy (hey, geniuses aren't always known for their personal skills - And if you see his work, it's clear that he's tortured). I really don't think that there was malice in his remarks, though I can understand the "No Tolerance" stand that Cannes took. It's hard to draw the line by saying, "Well, THAT remark was OK because it wasn't malicious... But THIS remark is a problem..."

What do you guys think? Where's the line here?

[Ferox13]

The guys definally strange and is prolly in bad taste but barring him is ridiculous but i guess they can do what they want..

[TheWickerFan]

As Basil Fawlty would say, "Don't mention the war!":eek:

[Ferox13]

I just listened to the 'incident' - the guy made a silly comment and then walked himself into it even more. Stupid to ban him for this.

Its not like they don't allow Roman Polanski to attend.

[_____V_____]

Posted this on Facebook a few days back.

Poor guy. He apparently made a really bad joke and they blew him out. Not like he was exactly Mr. Popular at Cannes anyway. His film "Melancholia" met with mixed reviews too - some of the audience members boo-ing at it.

Guess the days of freeform expression are well and truly gone. You can't speak your mind anymore, even if it is in jest.

[Elvis_Christ]

Yeh I caught this the other day on the news.

It seemed like a bad joke that he kept rolling with and he ending up digging a pretty big hole for himself.

He's an eccentric dude and I think it's all been taken the wrong way and I don't think he should be barred especially since he's one of the most talented and interesting director's working today.

It's not like he pulled the same shit as Mel Gibson or anything.

Think I'll throw on The Idiots tonight.

[newb]

Doesn't surprise me in this ridiculous PC world we live in now.

[ChronoGrl]

Yeah, that's the side that I'm on, too... I honestly think that he's just an incredibly, INCREDIBLY awkward little man who made one joke, tried to dig himself out of it, and then kept digging deeper. I don't think that there was any malice behind it; it just sounds like a truly awkward moment that he couldn't talk himself out of...

Plus, it seems as though half of Cannes hates him - Being completely booed at Antichrist and half booed with his new film... I think that they are biased...


The only place where I can see the other side of the argument is that they're making a Zero Tolerance statement - Essentially saying that any antisemitic comments are inappropriate - Generally the argument is "oh, it's a slippery slope," but that's the other side I suppose.

I just think the guy is ridiculously awkward, not ridiculously antisemitic.

[Fearonsarms]

He always seems to come across as a joker-a wind up merchant in fact. His attempt at winding up the Cannes film festival has worked better than he expected now his new film will get more promotion. I need to see The Kingdom still.