# Danish director Lars von Trier unveils, um, er, dumb, at Cannes **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 18, 2011, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/danish-director-lars-von-trier-unveils-um-er-dumb-at-cannes/582377 "2011-05-18T22:02:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2011, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/danish-director-lars-von-trier-unveils-um-er-dumb-at-cannes/582377/1 "2011-05-18T22:02:33Z")
[Here’s an AP story](http://beta.news.yahoo.com/von-trier-stirs-cannes-hitler-nazi-quips-132953595.html) about his press conference after the screening of his film. Maybe he was stoned. Maybe he’s an idiot. Maybe both. Some of the sillier things: > [@](#): > > I really wanted to be a Jew, and then I found out that I was really a Nazi, because, you know, my family was German," von Trier said. "Which also gave me some pleasure. … > [@](#): > > …von Trier said. "He’s [Hitler] not what you would call a good guy, but I understand much about him, and I sympathize with him a little bit. > [@](#): > > I am very much for Jews. No, not too much, because Israel is a pain in the ass." > > Von Trier then asked, "How can I get out of this sentence? > [@](#): > > “OK, I’m a Nazi.” > [@](#): > > Dunst has a nude scene in “Melancholia,” and von Trier joked that he now intends to do a porn film with her. > > “Now she wants more. That’s how women are, and Charlotte is behind this. They want a really, really, really hardcore film this time, and I’m doing my best,” von Trier said, as Dunst and Gainsbourg chuckled uncomfortably beside him. I had no idea Danes were so expressive! ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2011, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/danish-director-lars-von-trier-unveils-um-er-dumb-at-cannes/582377/2 "2011-05-19T01:12:11Z")
No, no, no, man… you wait until you have peaked as a well-liked, commercially succesful star, and _ **then** _ you only go on your insane diatribe while visibly under the influence of enough drugs or booze to kill a lesser man, preferrably during or immediately after an arrest (with mugshot). Then you check into a fancy rehab clinic. Geesh, didn’t Mel teach you all anything? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2011, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/danish-director-lars-von-trier-unveils-um-er-dumb-at-cannes/582377/3 "2011-05-19T02:03:11Z")
The tragedy of all this is that von Trier has probably destroyed his career. Which means that Kirsten Dunst porn film will never get made. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2011, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/danish-director-lars-von-trier-unveils-um-er-dumb-at-cannes/582377/4 "2011-05-19T02:14:30Z")
On the plus side, perhaps her mainstream film career will be destroyed as collateral damage, and she will turn to porn full-time. ---
**Author:** ![Tarwater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9de0a6/32.png) [@Tarwater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarwater)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2011, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/danish-director-lars-von-trier-unveils-um-er-dumb-at-cannes/582377/5 "2011-05-19T02:22:14Z")
[This AV Club article](http://www.avclub.com/articles/lars-von-triers-i-am-a-nazi-joke-didnt-go-over-so,56260/) gives a more equitable look at von Trier’s gaffe than the AP article, which kind of de-contextualizes his statements about his German heritage. If you’re at all familiar with von Trier’s previous interviews, you know that he’s a very self-deprecating person, and his riffing about Nazism was basically an extension of that. He comes from the Kubrick school of directing, I think. That’s one of the reasons that he was jokingly referring to himself as a Nazi. And if you’ve seen any of his films, his comment about making a pornographic film with Dunst makes a lot more sense. I feel bad for the guy. He made a crack about being a Nazi and it fell flat, and he just totally fell apart trying to recover from it. If you’ve seen the video of the interview, you’ll notice that some of the journalists sympathize with him, and try to get him back on the right track. Everybody involved, including von Trier, was pretty uncomfortable. But it was no worse than watching bad stand-up, though. Or watching somebody walk into a glass door, or whatever. There was certainly no venom in anything he said. ---
**Author:** ![blue\_infinity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blue_infinity/32/2817_2.png) [@blue\_infinity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blue_infinity)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2011, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/danish-director-lars-von-trier-unveils-um-er-dumb-at-cannes/582377/6 "2011-05-19T07:09:00Z")
Kirsten Dunst, eh? > [@](#): > > **Wikipedia** > In 1998, Lars von Trier also made history by having his company Zentropa be the world’s first mainstream film company to produce hardcore pornographic films. Three of these films, Constance (1998), Pink Prison (1999) and the adult/mainstream crossover-feature All About Anna (2005), were made primarily for a female audience, and were extremely successful in Europe, with the first two being directly responsible for the March 2006 legalizing of pornography in Norway. I believe in you Lars. Make it happen. ---
**Author:** ![Panurge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/fbc32d/32.png) [@Panurge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Panurge)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2011, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/danish-director-lars-von-trier-unveils-um-er-dumb-at-cannes/582377/7 "2011-05-19T08:09:53Z")
> [@Tarwater](#): > > [This AV Club article](http://www.avclub.com/articles/lars-von-triers-i-am-a-nazi-joke-didnt-go-over-so,56260/) gives a more equitable look at von Trier’s gaffe than the AP article, which kind of de-contextualizes his statements about his German heritage. If you’re at all familiar with von Trier’s previous interviews, you know that he’s a very self-deprecating person, and his riffing about Nazism was basically an extension of that. He comes from the Kubrick school of directing, I think. That’s one of the reasons that he was jokingly referring to himself as a Nazi. And if you’ve seen any of his films, his comment about making a pornographic film with Dunst makes a lot more sense. > > I feel bad for the guy. He made a crack about being a Nazi and it fell flat, and he just totally fell apart trying to recover from it. If you’ve seen the video of the interview, you’ll notice that some of the journalists sympathize with him, and try to get him back on the right track. Everybody involved, including von Trier, was pretty uncomfortable. But it was no worse than watching bad stand-up, though. Or watching somebody walk into a glass door, or whatever. There was certainly no venom in anything he said. Agreed. Many of his interviews in Denmark has this sort of quality. The Danish press is more amused with international reactions to the Trier interview than with Trier’s statements. He’s extremely insecure, self-deprecating (and weird), and the tirade at Cannes probably has more to do with this combined with his English speaking skills and rather odd sense of humour than with him being a Nazi of any kind. Storm in a teapot, if you ask me. ---
**Author:** ![Panurge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/fbc32d/32.png) [@Panurge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Panurge)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2011, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/danish-director-lars-von-trier-unveils-um-er-dumb-at-cannes/582377/8 "2011-05-19T11:20:20Z")
And Danish media now reports that Trier has been kicked out of the competition in Cannes! Crazy. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2011, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/danish-director-lars-von-trier-unveils-um-er-dumb-at-cannes/582377/9 "2011-05-19T12:07:36Z")
Technically, he has been declared Persona Non Grata, which is much cooler. Trier is a sad, strange little man. To paraphrase _Seinfeld_, he doesn’t offend me as a Jew, he offends me as a cinephile. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2011, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/danish-director-lars-von-trier-unveils-um-er-dumb-at-cannes/582377/10 "2011-05-19T12:11:40Z")
Moved MPSIMS --\> Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![jordanr2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/838e76/32.png) [@jordanr2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jordanr2)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2011, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/danish-director-lars-von-trier-unveils-um-er-dumb-at-cannes/582377/11 "2011-05-19T12:59:31Z")
Why would anyone take his comments literally or seriously? This is Lars von Trier we’re talking about. ---
**Author:** ![jordanr2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/838e76/32.png) [@jordanr2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jordanr2)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2011, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/danish-director-lars-von-trier-unveils-um-er-dumb-at-cannes/582377/12 "2011-05-19T13:00:32Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Trier is a sad, strange little man. To paraphrase _Seinfeld_, he doesn’t offend me as a Jew, he offends me as a cinephile. I’m just sad that _Melancholia_ looks so bland, since _Antichrist_ and _Breaking the Waves_ are a couple of all-time masterpieces. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2011, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/danish-director-lars-von-trier-unveils-um-er-dumb-at-cannes/582377/13 "2011-05-19T14:25:55Z")
_Breaking the Waves_ is the product of a seriously deranged mind. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2011, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/danish-director-lars-von-trier-unveils-um-er-dumb-at-cannes/582377/14 "2011-05-19T14:58:25Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Technically, he has been declared Persona Non Grata, which is much cooler. That _is_ exceedingly cool. I’ve always wanted to be declared Persona Non Grata somewhere. Speaking of - perhaps this is more an ATMB comment, but could the Board officially adopt a practice of PNG-ing people instead of simply banning them? The effect would be identical - but, as **Alessan** pointed out, much cooler. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2011, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/danish-director-lars-von-trier-unveils-um-er-dumb-at-cannes/582377/15 "2011-05-19T15:02:45Z")
That AV Club article has this zinger: > [@](#): > > Inevitably, the Anti-Defamation League has already weighed in, saying Von Trier “seems to be struggling with some personal ghosts” that he obviously decided to resolve in “a very, very bizarre way”—suggesting the ADL has maybe yet to see a Lars Von Trier movie. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2011, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/danish-director-lars-von-trier-unveils-um-er-dumb-at-cannes/582377/16 "2011-05-19T16:25:09Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > _Breaking the Waves_ is the product of a seriously deranged mind. And seems like _It’s a Wonderful Life_ compared to _Antichrist_. ---
**Author:** ![jordanr2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/838e76/32.png) [@jordanr2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jordanr2)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2011, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/danish-director-lars-von-trier-unveils-um-er-dumb-at-cannes/582377/17 "2011-05-19T22:02:16Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > _Breaking the Waves_ is the product of a seriously deranged mind. care to say more? I’m not really one for amateur psychologizing on the basis of the art people make, and if this is true, then it’s a “product of a seriously deranged mind” that seems to have hornswoggled any number of talented critics and dedicated viewers into thinking it’s something more. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2011, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/danish-director-lars-von-trier-unveils-um-er-dumb-at-cannes/582377/18 "2011-05-19T23:09:03Z")
I think Von Trier was just trying to make a joke. I probably would have found it amusing if I were in the audience. The “Israel is a pain in the ass” thing strikes me as a pointless swipe at Israel because apparently that’s the trendy thing to do nowadays, but aside from that, I see no reason to get upset about this…there is a certain segment of modern American Judaism, well represented by the ADL, which seems to exist only to get offended about stuff. I think these people are fools…they make the Jews look like whiners. As if there aren’t already enough stereotypes about that shit, we don’t need real-life Jewish groups doing it too. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/danish-director-lars-von-trier-unveils-um-er-dumb-at-cannes/582377/19 "2011-05-20T04:38:31Z")
A lot of people simply don’t understand how seriously Hitler and Nazism is still taken. Hell, my wife, to this day, _still_ has to swear that she was never a member of the German Nazi Party when she renews her US visa. Really, that’s no joke. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/danish-director-lars-von-trier-unveils-um-er-dumb-at-cannes/582377/20 "2011-05-24T06:25:11Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > A lot of people simply don’t understand how seriously Hitler and Nazism is still taken. Hell, my wife, to this day, _still_ has to swear that she was never a member of the German Nazi Party when she renews her US visa. Really, that’s no joke. Al Franken made a joke about how American immigration policy used to (and maybe still does) make people swear that they have never been a member of the Communist Party and that they had never been a member of the Nazi Party in 1945 or earlier. Franken said he could see the sense of this policy because, say what you will about them, anyone who joined the Nazi Party in 1946 is no fair-weather friend. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/danish-director-lars-von-trier-unveils-um-er-dumb-at-cannes/582377.md?page=2)