Archive of films Antichrist / Antichrist

Denmark / Germany / France / Sweden / Italy / Poland
2009, 104 min

Section: Open Eyes
Year: 2009

Charlotte Gainsbourg and Willem Dafoe appear in the latest film by celebrated Lars von Trier, playing a couple who take refuge in a log cabin in the middle of the woods in order to try to come to terms with the loss of their child. One of the most controversial entries at this year’s Cannes IFF, this film will certainly leave no-one indifferent. Charlotte Gainsbourg received the Best Actress award for her performance.

Synopsis

The Man (Willem Dafoe) and the Woman (Charlotte Gainsbourg) are passionately making love. The camera slides over them, savouring their rapt sex in black-and-white images. At the same time, we follow the steps of a child as it gazes excitedly at the falling snow outside an open window. The viewer senses how this scene will end; the tragedy, which could easily have been averted, will naturally change the lives of the Man and Woman forever. The Woman breaks down, the Man tries to save their marriage and ease their suffering. He proposes that, as some kind of joint therapy, they take refuge in a log cabin in the middle of a forest which, to the viewer’s surprise, might have come out of someone’s worst nightmare, which is what the couple’s stay in the cabin becomes. What was to have been their "paradise” transforms into hell on Earth. All too vivid natural scenery and perverse psychology play a major role in this bizarre experiment – will the Man and Woman return as a couple, or as separate individuals? Will they come back at all? One of the most controversial movies at this year’s Cannes IFF brought Charlotte Gainsbourg the award for Best Actress.

About the director

Lars von Trier (1956, Copenhagen) graduated from the Danish Film School in 1983 and then made advertising spots. He immediately gained recognition with his first film The Element of Crime (Forbrydelsens element, 1984 – Technical Grand Prize at the Cannes IFF). He then shot the dramas Epidemic (1987) and Europa (1991 – Special Jury Prize at the Cannes IFF), followed by a film made in the spirit of the Dogma 95 manifesto, The Idiots (Idioterne, 1998), the melodrama Breaking the Waves (1996 – Grand Prix at the Cannes IFF; EFA Award for Best European Film), the anti-musical Dancer in the Dark (2000 – Cannes Palme d’Or), the first two parts of an incomplete trilogy Dogville (2003) and Manderlay (2005), and The Boss of It All (2006). He also experiments with television (Medea, 1988; "The Kingdom”, 1994 and 1997). He is co-founder of the production company Zentropa.

Contacts

Artcam Films
Rašínovo nábřeží 6, 128 00, Praha 2
Czech Republic
Tel: +420 221 411 619
Fax: +420 221 411 699
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.artcam.cz

Danish Film Institute
Gothersgade 55, 1123, Copenhagen
Denmark
Tel: +45 337 434 00
Fax: +45 337 434 01
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.dfi.dk

TrustNordisk
Filmbyen 22, 2650, Hvidovre
Denmark
Tel: +45 368 687 88
Fax: +45 367 744 48
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.trustnordisk.com

About the film

Color, 35 mm

Section:	Open Eyes

Director:	Lars von Trier
Screenplay:	Lars von Trier
Dir. of Photography:	Anthony Dod Mantle
Editor:	Anders Refn
Producer:	Meta Louise Foldager
Production:	Zentropa Entertainments ApS, Zentropa International Köln, Slot Machine, Liberator Productions
Cast:	Willem Dafoe, Charlotte Gainsbourg
Contact:	Artcam Films, Danish Film Institute, TrustNordisk
Distributor:	Artcam Films

www:	http://www.antichristthemovie.com

Guests

Přemysl Martinek

Film Institution Rep., Producer

Lizette Gram Mygind

Film Institution Rep.

Artemio Benki

Distributor, Film Director, Producer

Susan Wendt

Sales Agent