  Controversial Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier. (WENN.COM)
|
In one of the most insane rambling rants in Cannes Film Festival history, with his star actress Kirsten Dunst squirming in obvious discomfort at his side, Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier declared Wednesday he has become a Nazi who sympathizes with Adolf Hitler.
Von Trier is the writer-director of Melancholia, the Cannes gala film that co-stars Dunst as a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown while facing a possible apocalypse that will destroy Planet Earth. Von Trier, notoriously eccentric and often bombastic and rude, was asked at a press conference about discovering his German heritage. That kicked off his rant, during which he praised Jews and damned Israel.
"The only thing I can tell is that I thought I was a Jew for a long time and I was very happy being a Jew," von Trier declared. "Then, later on, came Susanne Bier (a fellow Danish director whose successful work keeps their joint company afloat) and I wasn't so happy about being a Jew. Oh, that was a joke, sorry. But it turned out I was not a Jew and, if I was a Jew, I would be a second-rate Jew because there is a kind of hierarchy.
"Anyway, I really wanted to be a Jew and then I found out I was really a Nazi because my family was German ... which also gave me pleasure. What can I say? I understand Hitler. But I think he did some wrong things, absolutely. But I can see him sitting in his bunker at the end. I'm just saying I think I understood the man. He's not what you would call a good guy but I understood much about him and I sympathize a bit with him.
"But I'm not for the Second World War and I'm not against Jews, no, not even Susanne Bier. I am of course very much for Jews. No, not too much because Israel is a pain in the ass. But still, how can I get out of this sentence? I'm very much for Speer. Albert Speer I like. He was also maybe one of God's best children but he had some talent ... OK, I'm a Nazi!"
Media members, along with Dunst and other actors from Melancholia, sat there astonished during von Trier's unprovoked confessional. If he was telling the truth, he is a monster. If he was telling a joke, it is tasteless, moronic and guaranteed to sabotage any good will possible for Melancholia, the film, which already has serious problems of its own. Later Wednesday, the Cannes festival demanded an official apology from von Trier -- and got one.
As for Dunst, like her character in Melancholia, she has battled emotional turmoil in her own in real life, as von Trier was only too eager to point out in the press conference. But she said she was excited to work in his film, an English-language drama that also co-stars Kiefer Sutherland.
"I was drawn to the project because Lars is the only director who specifically writes films for women who can be ugly and messy and emotional and not have this perfect idea of what women should be in film. I was thrilled for the opportunity to work with Lars. I went in with such an open vulnerability and trust because of the way Lars presents himself to you. And now I have a good friend as well."
But now she may have some misgivings about her good friend.
bruce.kirkland@sunmedia.ca
